…appeals to the international community for help
Speaking after an emergency executive meeting of the Fellowship held on Thursday at its national headquarters in Lagos, PFN President, Bishop Wale Oke, said the body would no longer remain silent while Christians are “targeted, killed, raped, and displaced” across the country.
“Let us call a spade a spade. There is Christian genocide ongoing in Nigeria,” Bishop Oke declared. “Even while we speak, killings are still taking place in Borno, Plateau, and Benue States. When Christians were massacred in Dogon Noma in Plateau, what do we call that? When Christmas Day turned into a bloody day in Benue, with hundreds massacred, what name should we give it?”
He noted that the PFN had consistently drawn attention to the killings and abductions but lamented that the government had failed to act decisively to end them.
Oke added that the church’s warnings had been ignored for over 15 years, only gaining renewed attention after the U.S. President, Donald Trump, publicly spoke about the issue.
“We have been crying for years, presenting data and evidence, but our cries were not taken seriously. Now that Donald Trump has spoken, we are joining our voices with his to appeal to the international community to help stop this evil. The blood of the saints is crying out,” he said.
The PFN President likened the situation in Nigeria to apartheid-era South Africa, warning that denial or silence could push the country into deeper chaos. “If South Africa had not acknowledged apartheid, it would still be in bondage today. Nigeria must confront the truth – these are Christian-targeted killings, kidnappings, and the forceful takeover of ancestral lands,” he said.
Bishop Oke called on President Bola Tinubu to overhaul the nation’s security system and ensure justice for victims of religious violence. He questioned why those responsible for notorious attacks such as the killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto and the abduction of Leah Sharibu and the Chibok schoolgirls remain unpunished.
“The government should prove by action, not words, that it is not complicit,” he said. “When hundreds are buried in mass graves and the whole world sees it, who can deny it? Why should we play politics with the blood of Nigerians?”
Oke further condemned the government’s rehabilitation of so-called “repentant terrorists”, describing the move as a grave security risk. “They are building houses and integrating them into our security system. That compromises our safety. The President must act decisively. The time to stop this Christian genocide is now,” he said.
He assured Christians that the PFN would continue to speak out until the killings stopped. “We are not going to keep quiet. We will keep raising our voices until justice is done and every Nigerian, regardless of faith, can live in peace. The truth may be suppressed for a time, but it cannot be buried forever,” he said. (Vanguard)
