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By Lizzy Chirkpi
The Nigerian Senate on Thursday took a cautious stance on the ongoing narrative in the United States alleging genocide against Christians in northern Nigeria, opting to postpone open deliberations on the matter until next week.
The upper chamber’s restraint followed a motion sponsored by Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (Borno South) and 20 other lawmakers titled “Urgent Need to Correct Misconceptions Regarding the Purported ‘Christian Genocide’ Narrative in Nigeria and in the International Community.”
The motion came in response to claims by some U.S. Senators that Christians in Nigeria have been victims of political and religious persecution leading to mass casualties.
Ndume, in his presentation, argued that the narrative was being propelled by misinformation and urged the Senate to engage constructively with the U.S. Congress, international partners, and Nigerian diaspora groups to dispel the falsehoods.
He maintained that insecurity in Nigeria is not rooted in religious sentiment but stems from complex and multifaceted issues currently being addressed by relevant authorities.
However, debate on the motion was suspended after Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (Ondo South) advised that the matter be discussed in a closed-door session to prevent inadvertently aiding the strategies of terrorist groups.
In his ruling, Senate President Godswill Akpabio agreed that the matter was too sensitive for open debate.
“My personal opinion is that this has been brought to the fore of the Senate, and we must have exhaustive deliberations in a close session,” Akpabio said. “We must come up with a strategy to correct the misinterpretation, the misinformation, and at the same time educate the international community.”
He directed the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central), to summarize the prayers in the motion.
Bamidele, while summarizing, reiterated the Senate’s position that insecurity in Nigeria is not driven by religion.
“In view of the sensitivity of the issues involved, let our resolution here today be that as a Senate, it is our conviction that the insecurity problem in Nigeria is not religion-driven,” he said. “Having said that, we now step down further consideration of this motion and its prayers till the next legislative day, which is Tuesday next week, when we can have our executive session.”
The U.S. had, two weeks earlier, received a petition from five Republican Senators, Ted Budd, Josh Hawley, Pete Ricketts,Ted Cruz, and James Lankford urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reclassify Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).
Nigeria was previously designated a CPC in December 2020 before the designation was lifted in October 2021.