The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has alleged that Christian communities are facing what it described as an ongoing "genocide" across several parts of the country, accusing the government of failing to respond decisively to years of killings, abductions and displacement.
The claim was made on Thursday by the PFN President, Bishop Wale Oke, following an emergency executive meeting at the Fellowship’s national headquarters in Lagos.
According to Bishop Oke, the body could "no longer remain silent" while Christian populations were allegedly being "targeted, killed, raped, and displaced" in states including Borno, Plateau and Benue.
"Let us call a spade a spade. There is Christian genocide ongoing in Nigeria.
"When Christians were massacred in Dogon Noma in Plateau, what do we call that? When Christmas Day turned bloody in Benue, with hundreds reported killed, what name should we give it?," he said.
He maintained the Fellowship had repeatedly cried out about the attacks over the past 15 years but claimed their warnings were largely ignored until US President Donald Trump recently spoke publicly 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," he said.
Bishop Oke likened the situation to apartheid-era South Africa, arguing that denial or downplaying of attacks would only deepen the crisis.
He said communities were suffering killings, kidnappings and what he described as the forceful takeover of ancestral lands.
The PFN President urged President Bola Tinubu to overhaul the country’s security architecture and ensure accountability for perpetrators of religious violence.
He questioned why those behind cases such as the killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto and the abductions of Leah Sharibu and the Chibok schoolgirls had not been brought to justice.
"The government should prove by action, not words, that it is not complicit.
"When hundreds are buried in mass graves and the world sees it, who can deny it?," he said.
Bishop Oke also criticised the government’s rehabilitation programme for "repentant terrorists," saying it posed a danger to national security.
"They are building houses for them and integrating them into our security system. That compromises our safety," he said.
He added that the PFN would continue to speak out until victims received justice and Nigerians of all faiths could live without fear.
"We are not going to keep quiet. We will keep raising our voices until justice is done. The truth may be suppressed for a time, but it cannot be buried forever," he said.
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