Insurgency: Muslims have suffered more, MURIC replies US senators

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has insisted that the claim by Christian leaders that only Christians are being killed in Nigeria is false. 

This was in response to the statement by five US senators, namely, Josh Hawley, Marco Rubio, Mike Braun, James Inhofe and Tom Cotton, who addressed a letter to the US Secretary of State dated June 29, 2022 alleging that “Mere expression of one’s Christian faith has become tantamount to a death sentence in many parts of Nigeria”.   

The US’ senators’ statement followed a petition by the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) alleging persecution of the Nigerian Christians. 

But addressing a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said more Muslims have suffered casualties since the inception of insurgency in Nigeria. He said while the US Senators claimed that 4,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria as at 2021, the data which it noted was contestable, Akintola said they ignored the more than 40,000 Muslims killed at the same period.  

According to him, “Christian leaders are simply capitalising on the enormity of the security challenge facing Nigeria. 

“But the fact remains that 90% of the victims of Boko Haram and ISWAP are Muslims and the operations of these terrorist groups are mainly restricted to the North where Muslims are the majority.  

“Therefore, Muslims constitute the majority of the victims of violence in Nigeria. No data can dispute that even if it is from a satellite operating on Jupiter.

“The reason the killing of Christians appears more pronounced is due to differences in burial culture. Nigerian Christians display bodies of their victims and may even delay their burial for days, if not months while Muslims bury their victims almost immediately without any fuss. It is a photo trick and camera magic that eggs on emotions.”   

According to the MURIC Director, the claim that the Nigerian Government is failing to protect the religious freedom of its Christian citizens “is a shameless attempt to upturn the facts of history.”

“Eminently qualified Muslims are denied employment unless they convert to Christianity. Political appointments are anathema for Muslims in Southern Nigeria under Christian governors.”