ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Senate has declared that insecurity and terrorism in Nigeria, which have led to widespread killings and destruction of property, are not driven by religion but by geography and circumstance.
The upper legislative chamber, however, resolved to hold an executive session to deliberate on the growing international discussions portraying Nigeria as a country that persecutes Christians.
Both the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), emphasized during deliberations that terrorism in Nigeria was not religion-driven.
The discussion arose from a motion titled “Need to Correct Misconceptions Regarding the Purported ‘Christian Genocide’ Narrative in Nigeria and in the International Community”, sponsored by Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) and co-sponsored by 20 other senators.
In his motion, Senator Ndume urged the Senate to engage the United States Congress and other international bodies to clarify the misconception, stressing that Nigeria’s security challenges were multi-dimensional and not based on religion.
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After various senators expressed support for the motion, the Senate noted that due to the complexity and sensitivity of the issue, further discussion should be deferred. Consequently, the motion was stepped down.
Before the decision was taken, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said; “If terrorism occurs in a Christian-dominated area, Christians will be the victims; if it happens in a Muslim-dominated area, Muslims will be the victims.”
Akpabio further cautioned that international sanctions resulting from misinformation could worsen poverty levels across the nation.
“We should have a small team that will visit our colleagues in the US, because some people must have gone there to give a one-sided story,” he added.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, in his remarks, reaffirmed that all senators agreed that Nigeria’s insecurity was not religiously motivated.
“As a Senate, it is our conviction that the insecurity challenge is not religion-driven. We will step down this motion till the next legislative day and have an executive session, then come back to plenary to report progress,” he said.
Earlier, in presenting his motion, Senator Ndume called for urgent measures to correct what he and other lawmakers described as “misconceptions” about a so-called “Christian genocide” in Nigeria.
In his contribution, Senator Aliyu Wammako (APC, Sokoto North) described the “Christian genocide” claim as misinformation capable of dividing the country.
Similarly, Senator Sumaila Kawu (APC, Kano South) warned that the United States Congress risked adopting “an uninformed position” that could endanger both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (APC, Ondo South) also urged the chamber to deepen its understanding of terrorist tactics and strategies and called for stronger engagement between the legislature and the executive on counter-terrorism initiatives.
Following these contributions, the Senate resolved to revisit the matter after its executive session to determine appropriate steps for engagement and communication with the international community.