The President Bola Tinubu-led administration has come under fire for indicting itself by admitting that “thousands of Christians and Muslims are being killed in Nigeria” instead of addressing the root causes of insecurity and religious violence in the country.
The group faulted the Nigerian government’s argument that “both Christians and Muslims are being killed.
Describing it as an inadvertent admission that Nigeria is experiencing widespread, unaddressed religious persecution
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) in its latest report on the Tinubu’s administration described the statement by the Nigerian government as an open confession of failure and complicity in the country’s deteriorating security and religious freedom crisis.
According to the report,
Religious violence is not restricted to Christians alone. One of our earliest advocacies was in December 2015 when we rose in strong defence of processionist and nonviolent Shiite Muslims during the Nigerian Army massacre in Zaria, Kaduna State, where no fewer than 900 were killed.
Intersociety said it has been credibly tracking and documenting human rights violations since its founding in 2008, relying on six key methods, including analysis of media and human rights reports, eyewitness accounts, verified government data, field investigations, and archival research.
The group faulted the Nigerian government’s argument that “both Christians and Muslims are being killed,” describing it as an inadvertent admission that Nigeria is experiencing widespread, unaddressed religious persecution.
The Nigerian Government’s argument that ‘Muslims are also being killed’ is not surprising,” the report said.
To admit that ‘Christians are not only those being killed, Muslims are also being killed,’ is to self-indict and expressly admit that Nigeria is undergoing raging and unaddressed religious persecution.”
Intersociety further said that the current Muslim-Muslim Presidency structure, with both the President and Vice President being Muslims, undermines Nigeria’s pluralism and fuels perceptions of state-backed religious bias.
It is factually correct to submit that whatever defence the Nigerian government is internationally deploying to ward off accusations of religious persecution will always be defeated by the undeniable imposition of a Muslim-Muslim Presidency, the group said.
Citing international law principles under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Intersociety accused the Nigerian government of demonstrating unwillingness and inability to investigate and punish perpetrators of religious killings since 2009
Having sufficiently displayed unwillingness and inability to track and tackle raging religious persecution, the current government has woefully failed in its regional and international duties,
The report stated, urging Nigeria to invite the ICC Chief Prosecutor to intervene.
The group said at least 54 Christians were killed in Kaduna, Imo, and Benue States between August and October 2025.
It cited multiple reports by Sahara Reporters, Truth-Nigeria, Release International, and Diaspora Digital Media documenting killings in Makurdi, Guma, Kauru, Kachia, and other communities.
It added that 19 members of a Christian prayer group, including a prophetess identified as Ebere, were gruesomely murdered in Orlu, Imo State, in what it described as jihadist-linked attacks.
Intersociety called on the United States, Canada, and European countries to sustain pressure on Nigeria to protect religious freedom and human rights
It is shocking and saddening that instead of the government seeking lasting solutions, it has resorted to denials, attacks, and name-calling against international voices raising concerns,” the group said.
It renewed its call for the U.S. government to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern and label Fulani militant groups as Entities of Particular Concern.
The group warned that unless urgent action is taken, Christians and Christianity-affiliated others and their indigenous cultural heritages are likely to be obliterated in the next 50 years.
We are strongly warning again that unless something concrete is done, Christian children born today may not remain Christians by 2075, it said, comparing the situation to Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.
Intersociety also commended the former Trump administration for designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern in 2020, calling on current Western governments to intensify efforts to prevent what it called a looming complex humanitarian catastrophe.
The group said it documented the alleged killing of several thousands of Christians and non-violent Muslims since 2009, along with the destruction of thousands of churches across Nigeria.
