The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, has cautioned foreign media and advocacy groups against what it described as misleading reports portraying insecurity in Nigeria as religiously motivated.
The Council urged the Federal Government to take stronger action against what it called false narratives of religious persecution being circulated by some international platforms and organizations.
In a statement signed by its Deputy National Legal Adviser, Imam Haroun Muhammad Eze, on Friday, the NSCIA said it had observed several “false and exaggerated claims” suggesting that there is a systematic campaign against Christians in Nigeria.
According to the statement, “Council has noted the avalanche of refutations by government agencies, well-meaning Nigerians across religious divides, and the National Assembly of the false allegations that there is a genocidal campaign against Christians in Nigeria.”
The NSCIA commended the Federal Government and other stakeholders for rejecting such reports but said their responses had not gone far enough to correct the misleading impressions.
“Council wondered why the government could not, at least for once, go the whole hog by calling a spade a spade, by speaking the whole truth,” it stated.
The Council maintained that insecurity in the country affects all citizens irrespective of religion or ethnicity, insisting that terrorists and bandits do not discriminate in their attacks.
Citing the 2023 U.S. State Department Report on International Religious Freedom, the NSCIA noted that “terrorists, bandits and armed criminal groups target mosques and churches indiscriminately.”
“In the first half of 2025 alone, terrorists and bandits killed at least 2,266 civilians across Northern Nigeria, where Muslims are predominant, displacing over two million people and leaving 7.8 million in need of aid,” the statement added.
The Council also referenced the 2025 Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which acknowledged that both Muslims and Christians had been victims of attacks, stressing that the violence “does not follow any religious pattern.”
NSCIA said its silence in the face of provocative allegations was a demonstration of its commitment to national unity.
“Council wishes to place on record that its decision to remain quiet despite attacks and insults on Muslims stems from its desire to protect the corporate existence of Nigeria,” it added.
It also cited a statement by the Christian Association of Nigeria’s Director of National Issues and Social Welfare, who admitted that insecurity affects everyone equally. “If they open fire in a marketplace, the bullets don’t look for a Christian or spare a Muslim or even a baby,” the CAN official was quoted as saying.
The NSCIA further expressed concern over policies it described as divisive, including a recent circular by the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, restricting co-insurance between conventional insurers and Takaful operators.
“This circular of exclusivity, which clearly violates the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA 2025), is intended to further create a divide between Muslims and non-Muslims in the country,” the Council said.
Reaffirming its commitment to peace and unity, the Council stated that it “strongly believes in one and indivisible Nigeria and will continue to work to preserve this ideal even in the face of provocation.”
The Council called on the Federal Government to strengthen public communication and swiftly counter misinformation capable of fuelling religious tension.
The statement comes amid renewed international scrutiny of Nigeria’s handling of religious freedom. Some Western lawmakers and advocacy groups have accused Nigerian authorities of failing to protect Christians from targeted attacks—claims the NSCIA and other local leaders have dismissed as politically motivated and detached from reality.
In a related development, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, during Thursday’s plenary, cautioned against framing Nigeria’s security crisis along religious lines.
He noted that both Muslims and Christians have been victims of terror and banditry, warning that external narratives risk deepening divisions.
“Terrorists and bandits do not discriminate by faith when they attack. The challenge before us is national security, not religious conflict,” Akpabio said.