Religious framing of insecurity misleading, says northern Christian group

The Northern Nigeria Christian Youth Network (NNCYN) has warned that framing the country’s security crisis as a religious conflict is dangerously misleading.

The NNCYN, the apex body for Christian youths across the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, said the wave of killings across the north is driven by terrorism and criminality — not genocide against Christians.

In a statement signed by Lawrence Samaila, national coordinator of the network, NNCYN said reducing the violence to a Christian-versus-Muslim narrative distorts the true nature of the crisis and fuels unnecessary tension.

The group said both Christians and Muslims have suffered at the hands of extremists who continue to terrorise communities across the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“We have watched with utter dismay as the fabric of our society is torn apart by terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers who operate with impunity in the name of Bokoharam/ISWAP,” NNCYN said.

The group cited recent attacks by the Mahmuda and Lakurawa groups in Kwara and Kogi states, adding that mass abductions, bloodletting and widespread destruction of livelihoods have become a national embarrassment.

“The litany of pain is long and unforgivable, communities in the northern part of the country are the most terrorised. From the endless killings and abductions in Plateau and Kaduna, especially southern Kaduna, to the herder and farmer attacks in Benue, Niger, Kwara, and Kogi states,” the group said.

“As a matter of fact, across the nineteen northern states, every state is battling with terrorism of a kind. Lives are lost, people displaced, and property destroyed. Each life lost is a testament to a failing security architecture and a profound crisis of leadership.

“These bloodthirsty elements do not discriminate; they kill Muslims and Christians alike, they kidnap from all faiths, and they destroy properties belonging to everyone. Their god is not Allah or Jehovah; their god is chaos, money, and power.”

NNCYN added that insisting on calling the violence a Christian genocide is “not only inaccurate but also dangerously counterproductive”.

“Such a narrow framing prevents a holistic solution and needlessly sows tension and distrust between the Christian and Muslim communities, whose peaceful coexistence is vital for national unity. We must not fall into this trap. Our fight is not against each other, but against the common enemies of terror and criminality,” the statement reads.

The network also criticised security agencies for failing to curb the attacks, describing the situation as an indictment on the nation’s security architecture and a sign of leadership failure.

NNCYN further warned politicians and elites allegedly sponsoring violence for political gains to desist.

“For the unscrupulous politicians and elites who, for political expediency, are directly or indirectly sponsoring these killings, banditry, and kidnappings: Your day of reckoning is near. You are trading in human blood for electoral gains and to destabilize your opponents. We call on you to desist from this evil immediately. The God of justice sees you, and the Nigerian people will ultimately hold you accountable,” the group said.