Former Presidential aide and rights advocate, Reno Omokri, has dismissed claims by American television host Bill Maher and international X influencer Radio Genoa that 500,000 Christians were killed by Muslims in Nigeria within the past year.
In a statement released via his official X account, Omokri described the allegations as “propaganda and misinformation”, stressing that the figures are not only exaggerated but impossible when compared against verified global conflict data.
According to Omokri, the Institute for Economics and Peace’s 2024 Global Terrorism Index recorded 8,352 deaths worldwide from terrorism and insecurity.
Even when combined with the 36,000 civilian deaths reported by the UN from armed conflicts globally, the total is far below the 500,000 or even Maher’s more conservative figure of 100,000 deaths attributed solely to Nigeria.
“It is preposterous to allege that half a million Christians were killed in Nigeria last year. We do have insecurity challenges, but more Muslims have been killed than Christians,” Omokri stated.
Citing data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), Omokri noted that between 2010 and 2023, 13,485 deaths occurred in Nigeria’s Northwest—the heartland of Islam—with the majority of victims being Muslims.
Omokri, himself an Orthodox Christian, recalled how Boko Haram and ISWAP initially targeted Christians to provoke a religious war, but when Christian leaders, guided by the Christian Association of Nigeria, chose not to retaliate, terrorists shifted tactics and increasingly attacked Muslims.
He pointed to government action against perpetrators, including the conviction of Kabiru Sokoto, mastermind of the 2011 St. Theresa’s Catholic Church bombing in Niger State, and the ongoing prosecution of suspects in the 2022 Owo church attack.
Omokri further highlighted the Tinubu administration’s successes in eliminating notorious bandit leaders such as Kachalla Ali Kawaje, Kachalla Halilu Sububu, Kachalla Damina, Yellow Sirajo, Boderi, and Auta Dan Mai Jan Kai.
Rejecting the genocide narrative, he clarified that apart from the Southern Kaduna crisis, which he described as “a localized farmer-herder conflict exacerbated by then-Governor Nasir El-Rufai,” there has been no nationwide Christian genocide in Nigeria.
“There was never a genocide in Nigeria. What we are facing is a war by terrorists against all Nigerians, regardless of religion,” Omokri concluded.If You’re Reading From Phoenix Click On Read Original at the top To Read Full Article
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
