TOP MISDIAGNOSING A NATIONAL TRAGEDY: THE VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA IS NOT A RELIGIOUS WAR BUT A GENOCIDE AGAINST INDIGENOUS PEOPLES . By Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Omirhobo
The attention of the public has been drawn to the recent comments credited to the Regional Leader of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo, in which he attempted to link the ongoing carnage in Nigeria to the All Progressives Congress’ Muslim–Muslim presidential ticket.
As someone who has travelled across the length and breadth of this country, litigated in defence of vulnerable communities, stood with victims of mass atrocities, and consistently spoken truth to power without fear or favour, I consider it my duty to address this dangerous distortion before it misleads the nation.
While we fully understand the grief of communities that have suffered unimaginable loss, we must insist on truth, accuracy, and responsibility in public commentary. Reverend Dachomo’s assertion is not only incorrect, it is a grave misdiagnosis of Nigeria’s most urgent national tragedy. Statements like this risk inflaming religious sentiments, misdirecting national attention, and empowering those who profit from chaos.
The mass killings in Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, Zamfara, Niger, Katsina, Yobe and other parts of Nigeria did not begin with the Muslim–Muslim ticket, and they will not end with a Christian–Christian ticket. Reducing this existential crisis to electoral religious arithmetic is an oversimplification that does more harm than good.
For more than a decade, Nigeria has witnessed a consistent and alarming pattern of violence that bears all the hallmarks of:Ethnic cleansing, Land dispossession, , Demographic replacement , Suppression of indigenous autonomy
The victims are the indigenous peoples of Nigeria—Christians, Muslims, traditional worshippers, and communities with no religious identity whatsoever.
This Is NOT a Christian–Muslim War Framing this catastrophe as a religious conflict is a trap one deliberately set by the perpetrators to divide their victims and disguise their true motives.
The violent extremist elements operating within armed Fulani networks do not ask their victims whether they worship in a church or mosque. Their ideological posture is rooted in domination of land, water, grazing routes, forests, minerals and local political structures.
If this were a religious war, Muslim indigenous communities in Niger, Kaduna, Zamfara and Katsina would not also be buried in mass graves.
This narrative must therefore be rejected completely.
Religious Framing Is Dangerous .Nigeria is already a delicate mosaic of ethnicities and religions. Any careless statement that hints at religious confrontation is reckless and potentially catastrophic. Such rhetoric can spark retaliatory violence and plunge communities into needless conflict.
- Reverend Dachomo’s position risks:
- Pitting Christians against Muslims
- Deepening distrust, Igniting sectarian violence , Distracting from the real aggressors
The truth is simple and undeniable:
Both Christians and Muslims are being killed.
Both Christians and Muslims are being displaced.
Both Christians and Muslims are losing ancestral lands.
This is not a religious war. It is an assault by a violent expansionist ideology against the indigenous peoples of Nigeria.
A Christian–Christian Ticket Would Change Nothing
It is misleading to suggest that the composition of national leadership determines whether these attacks occur. Even with a Christian–Christian ticket, the killings would continue because the perpetrators are not reacting to elections, they are executing a longstanding agenda of territorial conquest.
The Real Issues Are Genocide, Land Grabs and State Failure
Nigeria is confronting a coordinated campaign involving: Systematic invasion of indigenous territories
Mass displacement and silent resettlement , Forceful seizure of farmlands and villages Illegal occupation of forests and border communities , Weak, compromised or complicit security responses, Political indifference and silence from those who should defend the people
To call this a religious conflict is to assist the aggressors in hiding their true purpose.
I call on Reverend Dachomo and every political or religious leader to refrain from reckless statements capable of igniting a religious war. will not survive such a catastrophe. The Middle Belt, South-East, South-South, South-West and Far North have already suffered enough bloodshed.
We must not start what no one can finish. What Nigeria requires now is:
1. Clear understanding of the true nature of the violence.
2. Unity of all indigenous peoples across religious lines.
3. Demand for accountability, justice and protection from the state.
4. National and international mobilisation against genocide and land dispossession.
The crisis destroying Nigerian communities is not about Christians versus Muslims, nor about who occupies Aso Rock. It is a deliberate and coordinated assault on the indigenous peoples of Nigeria .on their land, their culture, their identity, and their very survival.
Let us unite.
Let us speak truth.
Let us refuse to allow misdiagnosis to divide the victims or empower the aggressors.
Nigeria is at a dangerous crossroads, and misleading narratives will only quicken our descent.
Signed:
Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Omirhobo
Human Rights Lawyer & Public Interest Advocate
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