The Special Adviser on Policy Communication to the President Bola Tinubu, Daniel Bwala, on Sunday, attributed the recent wave of reports alleging a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria to the country’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly its condemnation of civilian killings in Gaza.
Speaking in an interview with France24 in Paris, Bwala said the narrative gained traction shortly after Vice-President Kashim Shettima, representing President Tinubu at the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, reiterated Nigeria’s support for a two-state solution as the only sustainable path to peace between Israel and Palestine.
Shettima had stated that Nigeria “does not believe the sanctity of human life should be trapped in endless debate,” stressing that “a two-state solution remains the most dignified path to lasting peace for the people of Palestine.”
Bwala said that within 24 hours of Shettima’s speech, some Western media figures and politicians began promoting false claims of Christian persecution in Nigeria. “After Nigeria condemned the inhumane treatment in Gaza, these narratives started spreading. A U.S. comedian, Bill Maher, immediately began pushing the Christian genocide campaign,” he noted.
He accused American lawmakers such as Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Riley Moore of relying on “inaccurate and contradictory” reports to justify their allegations. Cruz had recently introduced a bill purportedly aimed at protecting “persecuted Christians in Nigeria,” while Moore wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging sanctions against the Nigerian government.
Bwala dismissed these claims as “politically motivated,” insisting that insecurity in Nigeria cuts across religious and ethnic lines. “We strongly reject the notion of a systematic genocide in Nigeria. Yes, there are security challenges, but those advancing this religious narrative seek only to divide Nigerians,” he said.
He alleged that some Western interests were deliberately amplifying the genocide claims to discredit the Tinubu administration’s progress in stabilising the economy and addressing insecurity. “It is a manufactured narrative by certain Western actors who cannot stand to see Nigeria making economic and security gains,” Bwala stated.
The Federal Government has consistently denied accusations of religiously targeted violence, maintaining that its counterterrorism efforts are impartial and aimed at all perpetrators of violence regardless of faith or ethnicity.
