Anambra State—A Catholic priest serving at the Catholic Secretariat, Nnewi, Anambra state, Reverend Father Emefiena Ezeani, has echoed claims of Christian genocide in Nigeria made by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, United States of America.
“Yes, Senator Ted Cruz is right to say that Government officials in Nigeria are ignoring the killing of Christians by Islamic Jihadists, and they are also complicit in the act of Terrorism”, Ezeani wrote in a message to TruthNigeria.
Cruz had on October 3, 2025, accused Nigerian officials of “ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists,” adding that his “Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act would target these officials with powerful sanctions and other tools”.
Nigerian Church leaders react
In a recent press statement titled, ‘Christian Genocide’, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) drew attention to the plight of Christians in Nigeria.
“Over the years, CAN and the wider Christian community have worked tirelessly to draw attention, both nationally and internationally, to the persecution of Christians in Nigeria”, CAN’s president, Archbishop Daniel Okoh wrote in the statement.
“The association has established mechanisms for recording incidents of religiously motivated killings, engaged with international partners, written to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and hosted global Christian organisations such as the World Evangelical Alliance and the Lausanne Movement”, the statement read.
The Association said its “concern remains that these cries for justice and protection are too often met with delay or denial.”
But Abimbola Ayuba, the Director of National Issues and Social Welfare in the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), expressed a different opinion.
Speaking earlier in a an interview with Guardian Nigeria on Tuesday 7 October, 2025, Ayuba, dismissed claims that Christians are being persecuted in Nigeria.
“The pattern of killings has truly not been in a particular pattern”, Ayuba said.
“In some Christian-dominated states like Benue, it will appear as if Christians are being killed, but this same insurgency has claimed several Muslims in their early morning prayers; they attack them in their mosques, slaughter them, kidnap people and do a lot of things”, he added.
Speaking further, Ayuba frowned at the call made by some American politicians that Nigeria should be re-designated as a country of particular Concern.
“Why run to America when you have a Senate here where you can file your petition?”, he queried.
“In the end, when they place Nigeria as a country of particular interest, all of us will suffer”, he added.
Ayuba called for collective action to end the insurgency and cautioned against seeking sympathy abroad.
A wake-up call to clergymen in Nigeria
Despite reports of regular attacks on Christians by Islamic jihadists, only a few members of the clergy in Nigeria have spoken to the press over the situation.
“Only about five percent of priests, pastors, and bishops in Nigeria seem to be concerned, worried, and outspoken about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria”, wrote Reverend Father Ezeani to TruthNigeria.
“An incredible expectation from a class of religious elite who claim to be Shepherds of the people!”, he continued.
“During the regime of El-Rufai, there were almost daily killing of people by Muslim Jihadists in Southern Kaduna which is predominantly Christian, so why was the same killing not taking place in Northern Kaduna which is predominantly Muslims?” Ezeani queried.
“The Middle Belt, comprising Benue, Plateau is mostly Christians, many of their towns and villages have been sacked and reoccupied by Muslim Fulani and their families”, he continued.
“Why are such states as Sokoto which are predominantly Muslims not experiencing the same fate from the hands of the Islamic terrorists?”, Ezeani further queried.
Nigeria’s Lawmakers move to mitigate impending sanctions
Troubled by the renewed calls for sanctions against Nigeria over reports of Christian genocide in the country, Nigeria’s Senate has proposed to set up an ad hoc committee to visit the United States of America to engage with members of the U.S Congress.
The motion was sponsored by Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume, and co-sponsored by 20 other senators, mostly from northern Nigeria.
In a statement on October 9, 2025, Nigeria’s Senate President, Mr. Godswill Akpabio, said the Senate would constitute a delegation to interface with the U.S legislature, adding that the composition of the committee would be decided during a closed-door session.
“What is happening in the United States is of concern to Nigerian Christians and Muslims because the moment they bring sanctions, sanctions breed poverty, and poverty knows no religion. So, for me, engagement will be the best”, Akpabio said.
“When we go into executive session, we can decide to set up a small ad hoc committee to go to the United States of America and engage our colleague parliamentarians there and then to also educate them”, he added.
Mr. Akpabio maintained that Nigeria’s security crisis should not be framed as a religious war.
“If terrorism occurs in a Christian-dominated state, most people that will die there will be Christians but if it occurs in a Muslim-dominated state, most of those who will die there will be Muslims”, he said.
A recent report by Open Doors International reveals that an estimated 4,476 Christians were killed for their faith in 2024 with Nigeria alone accounting for nearly 70% of those deaths.
Credit: TruthNigeria.
