By SCM Staff Writer I Wednesday, Oct.22, 2025
AWKA, Nigeria – Renowned Nigerian human rights lawyer and lead counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has strongly condemned the ongoing killings in Nigeria carried out under the guise of religious belief.
In a statement issued on Wednesday titled “Midweek Musing: The Massacre No One Wants to Name Faith Under Fire in Northern Nigeria,” Ejiofor expressed deep concern over what he described as a growing wave of religiously motivated violence, primarily targeting Christian communities across northern Nigeria.
He stated that groups such as Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Fulani militias, and various criminal bandits have increasingly merged into what he called “one dark shadow”a convergence of extremist ideology, criminal opportunism, and state failure.
“Denying the religious dimension of this violence is nothing short of whitewashing reality,” Ejiofor said.
He argued that while the conflict is often portrayed as ethnic or resource-based, the pattern of attacks bears “the unmistakable signature of a jihadist campaign” systematically aimed at Christian populations.
He stated that both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria deserve the fundamental right to live and worship without fear.
According to him, the Nigerian state must rise above political hesitations and acknowledge the violence for what it truly is.
“The state must summon the moral and constitutional courage to confront this evil by its proper name. There can be no healing without truth, and no justice without accountability,” Ejiofor added.
He also criticized the international community for its continued silence, urging global human rights organizations and foreign governments to stop looking the other way while communities are being devastated.
“The world must no longer be complicit in silence. Every life matters, and the time to act is now,” Ejiofor concluded.
Statement reads:
When Nigeria’s Soul Burns, the World Must Not Look Away.
There is a cruelty in Nigeria that too often hides behind sanitized headlines like “clashes” or “farmer–herder conflict.” Scratch the surface and a different picture emerges; one of deliberate, organized, and terrifyingly persistent violence.
Across Plateau, Benue, Zamfara, and Borno States, thousands, mostly Christians, have been slaughtered. Churches have been razed, homes burnt, and entire communities displaced. Yet, official narratives continue to call these horrors “bandit attacks.”
A NATION BLEEDING – THE FACTS:
The European Parliament reported that between 2019 and 2023, nearly 17,000 Christians were killed in targeted faith-based attacks across Nigeria. By mid-2025, that number had risen by over 7,000 more. Thousands of churches, schools, and clergy members have been destroyed or abducted.
THE MIDDLE BELT HORROR – PLATEAU AND BENUE:
Nigeria’s agricultural heartland, the Middle Belt, has become its blood-soaked altar.
In Plateau State, over 120 Christians were killed in a single outbreak.
In Benue State, June 2025 alone recorded 85 deaths in one week.
The Yelwata massacre (June 13–14, 2025) claimed up to 200 lives and displaced more than 3,000 people.
Local youth groups have called it what it is: genocide. Yet, government statements still describe these events as “clashes.”
ZAMFARA AND THE EXPANDING NIGHTMARE:
The violence has spread westward. On October 18, 2025, armed bandits stormed Buzugu and Rayau villages in Zamfara State, abducting more than 70 people. Across the northwest, villages burn, citizens vanish, and government presence continues to fade.
TRUTH DEMANDS FAIRNESS – MUSLIMS HAVE ALSO FALLEN VICTIM:
On August 19, 2025, bandits attacked a mosque in Katsina State, killing over 50 worshippers.
The U.S. State Department confirms that both churches and mosques have been targeted. The distinction, however, lies in scale and pattern. While Muslims suffer, Christians remain disproportionately targeted in systematic and faith-driven assaults.
TERROR BY MANY NAMES:
Boko Haram, ISWAP, Fulani militias, and criminal bandits now blur into one dark shadow, a mix of ideology, opportunism, and state failure.
To deny the religious dimension of this violence is to whitewash reality. The pattern of destruction bears the unmistakable signature of a jihadist campaign against Christian communities, thinly disguised as resource or ethnic conflict.
THE RENO OMOKRI CONTROVERSY:
Then came the irony of ironies. Reno Omokri, once a vocal advocate against Christian persecution, invited an American delegation to Nigeria to “debunk” the so-called Christian genocide. But his plan backfired.
One of his guests, Mike Arnold, a former mayor from Texas, publicly denounced him, calling Omokri a liar and propagandist, and comparing him to “Nigeria’s Joseph Goebbels.” Instead of refuting genocide claims, Arnold declared that his visit confirmed them, describing Omokri’s mission as a paid whitewash.
The man who tried to silence the truth was, in the end, exposed by his own guest.
WHEN SILENCE BECOMES COMPLICITY:
If you have read this far, perhaps you feel anger, despair, or disbelief. But silence is no longer an option.
Both Christians and Muslims deserve to live and worship without fear. The Nigerian state must rise above politics and call this evil by its true name. And the international community must stop looking away.
Because in those burnt villages, under the ashes of churches and mosques, the truth still breathes, waiting to be heard.
