The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has accused the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) of betraying President Bola Ahmed Tinubu despite what it described as the President’s generous inclusion of Christians in his administration.
This comes after former U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly placed Nigeria back on the list of “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC) over alleged genocide against Christians.
In a statement issued by MURIC’s Founder and Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, the group expressed dismay over the alleged role of some Christian leaders in petitioning U.S. authorities regarding religious killings in Nigeria.
“Despite the Nigerian government’s vehement denial of any Christian genocide, U.S. President Donald Trump yesterday redesignated Nigeria as a country of particular concern,” Akintola said.
MURIC described the move as “blurred, misplaced, and distorted,” arguing that it misrepresents the true situation in Nigeria.
“It will be recalled that certain Christian leaders had written frivolous petitions to the U.S. Congress, claiming that Christians were the only ones being killed by terrorists in Nigeria. Instead of debunking this false and misleading narrative, CAN simply amplified it,” the statement read.
The group expressed disappointment in CAN’s alleged failure to defend Nigeria’s image, accusing the association of deepening divisions instead of promoting unity.
“We are nonplussed by the actions of these Christian leaders, most especially that of CAN, which is expected to know better,” Akintola added.
MURIC further claimed that President Tinubu had shown significant goodwill toward Christians through key federal appointments and privileges.
“CAN’s action is a stab in the back in view of President Tinubu’s preference of Christians in appointments, favours and privileges over and above his Muslim brethren,” it said.
“The President himself confirmed that 62 percent of all appointments went to Christians. The First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu, was even more generous to them than Father Christmas. Yet, despite all that was done for Nigerian Christians, they still deemed it fit to take Nigeria to the enabler of Gaza genocide,” the statement continued.
MURIC described the situation as the “mother of all betrayals,” insisting that President Tinubu did not deserve such treatment.
While acknowledging that U.S. foreign policy decisions are often influenced by strategic interests, the group blamed certain Nigerian actors for feeding “misleading narratives” to foreign governments, ultimately contributing to the decision.
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