Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) on Wednesday replied the Christian Association of Nigerian (CAN) over the state of insecurity and allegation that Christians bear the brunt of attacks by kidnappers and insurgents in the country.
In a press statement by Alhaji Yusuf Chinedozi Nwoha, deputy of administrator of the NSCIA, the group called on the Buhari administration to declare a state of emergency on insecurity and debunked the notion that Muslims were out to exterminate Christians.
According to him, some of the attacks said to have been executed by Muslims against Christians were ‘false flags’ as Christians are also known historically in Nigeria to have been involved with terrorism and unless caught, their actions are blamed on Muslims.
Part of the statement read:
“Christians have been known to engage in terrorism in Nigeria with a view to blaming it on Muslims. Only cases of the failed ones are known. They commit murder, engage in kidnapping and resort to heinous propaganda to put Nigeria and her Muslim population on the defensive. Their media wing distorts news and skews reports to reveal and project their Islamophobia but the voiceless Muslims have Allah and He is sufficient”, NSCIA said.
“False flag operations usually get known when they fail and that was what exactly happened in Kaduna on February 2, 2020 when a Christian, Nathaniel Samuel, attempted to bomb the Living Faith Church in Kaduna the same day that a circus was being organised in Lagos. Of course, had the mission succeeded, it would have been blamed on Muslims. Rather than admit the false flag, at least the Global Research website indicates some 42 instances where officials behind false flag operations admitted them, so-called religious leaders started to peddle shameful lies, concocting interviews and giving a fictitious name to a Christian pastor.
“They have some lousy misfits with dented image and corruption charges in the public space seeking to confuse the dimwitted until Facebook profiles, father’s confirmation of identity and statements of those who know the terrorist Pastor, Samuel, burst their lies. Rather than apologise to the nation, they shamelessly resort to empty rhetoric now remembering that names do not matter and terrorists have no religion!
“The Internet does not forget the following instances, out of many failed terrorist acts and false flag operations that would have been blamed on Muslims in Nigeria if they had succeeded.
- Mr John Alaku Akpavan, a Christian, was arrested on June 5, 2011 while attempting to bomb the Radio House, opposite the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
- Ms Lydia Joseph, a Christian from Bauchi State and failed bomber of St John Catholic Cathedral, attempted to carry out her terrorist act on September 12, 2011.
- A Christian indigene of Akwa Ibom State, Augustine Effiong, carried out a bomb attack on Bayero University, Kano, on April 29, 2012.
- Emmanuel King, a Christian who disguised his religious identity by dressing like a Muslim, was arrested while attempting to bomb the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on December 28, 2011.
- Christian traders of Igbo extraction gunned down a dozen fellow Igbo businessmen inside the Christ Apostolic Church, Adamawa State, on January 6, 2012.
- Madam Ruth, a Christian, attempted to bomb the ECWA Church, Kalaring Kaltingo, in Gombe State on March 12, 2012
- Some eight Christians were arrested in Bauchi in an attempt to bomb COCIN Church on February 26, 2012. Another Christian bomber was lynched same day (February 26, 2012) while attempting to escape after bombing COCIN Church in Jos.
- Jonathan Gyanet, a Christian police officer, was arrested while attempting to bomb ERCC Church in Akwanga Nasarawa State on April 20, 2014.
Nwoha then went further to delink Boko Haram from Muslims.
“We want to state in unequivocal terms, and for the umpteenth time, that Boko Haram does not represent Islam or Muslims. The group and the enemies of Islam hiding behind its mask are pursuing a rogue, venal and doggy agenda far removed from Islam. It is therefore the height of insincerity, wickedness, falsehood and hypocrisy to suggest that Boko Haram is a ploy to eliminate Christians, a dummy being promoted by some dealers camouflaging as religious leaders to their followers and the outside world.
“It is incontrovertible that more Muslims, including Imams, have been slaughtered, displaced and dismembered than Christians since Boko Haram became what it is: a hydra-headed monster. Indeed, more mosques have been bombed or destroyed in the bloody campaign, which has consumed precious lives including those of our professors. To suggest that Christians are killed because they refuse to embrace Islam stands logic on its head. Were Muslim scholars and individuals killed in mosques, market squares and villages killed because they refused to denounce Islam?’, NSCIA said.
