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The Senate on Thursday rejected recent claims by US Senator Ted Cruz and television host Bill Maher alleging a “genocide of Christians” in Nigeria, describing the statements as false, misleading and dangerous to national unity.
The lawmakers reached the decision following a motion entitled “Urgent Need to Correct Misconceptions Regarding the Narrative of ‘Christian Genocide’ in Nigeria and the International Community.” The Senate also resolved to work with the Federal Government to strengthen counter-terrorism measures and tackle insecurity across the country.
The motion, sponsored by Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) and co-sponsored by Senators Sani Musa (Niger East), Magatakarda Wamakko (Sokoto North), Ibrahim Bomai (Yobe South), and Ahmed Wadada (Nasarawa West), seeks to dispel what they call dangerous misinformation circulating in the international media.
Supporting the motion, Senator Wamakko condemned the genocide narrative as “misinformation designed to destabilize the country.” He called for decisive action to counter the spread of lies about Nigeria’s internal security situation.
Senator Sumaila Kawu (Kano South) warned that such baseless allegations could jeopardize Nigeria’s diplomatic relations and inflame sectarian divisions.
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“It is clear that no one in this country supports terrorism. The government is working hard to ensure security. In my country, some leaders of the Nigerian Christian Association are part of the security council and traditional institutions,” Kawu said.
He warned that passage of the bill in the US Congress could have serious implications for Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (Ondo South) called for a more strategic and intelligence-based approach to tackling terrorism.
“We must understand the strategies and operations of these terrorists and engage the government in redefining our counter-terrorism measures,” he said.
The debate follows comments by Senator Ted Cruz, who in a podcast with US television host Bill Maher, alleged that Christians in Nigeria were “systematically targeted and murdered” – a claim he called genocide. Maher and political analyst Van Jones leveled similar accusations, accusing Nigerian authorities of failing to protect the Christian community.
The Federal Government has since rejected the claims, stating that security challenges in Nigeria are driven by terrorism and banditry, not religious persecution.
The Senate resolution on Thursday marked a united legislative stance to work with the executive branch to develop a more effective counter-terrorism framework and launch diplomatic efforts to correct what it described as a “distorted foreign narrative” about Nigeria.
