Concerns over insecurity and religious violence in Nigeria have resurfaced after Mustapha Mohammed said that most victims of terrorism in the country are Muslims, rejecting claims that the violence is primarily targeted at Christians and warning against what he described as attempts to misrepresent the nature of the conflict.
On June , 2026, speaking during a public discussion on insecurity in Nigeria, on ait show. Mustapha Mohammed stated that while Nigeria remains a country facing serious security challenges, claims that terrorists are mainly targeting Christians do not reflect casualty patterns from years of insurgency and armed violence. He said, “Nigeria is a Country of Particular Concern. Those who try to blackmail the Nigerian government by saying Christians are being killed by terrorists, ninety percent of those killed are Muslims.”
Mohammed’s comments came amid continuing national and international debate over the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), a classification used by the United States Department of State for countries accused of engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.
The CPC designation has long generated debate among policymakers, religious organizations, and rights groups, particularly regarding whether violence in Nigeria is driven primarily by religious persecution, terrorism, criminality, or a combination of multiple factors.
Mohammed argued that reducing Nigeria’s security crisis to a Christian-versus-Muslim narrative oversimplifies a complex conflict involving insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, and communal violence across several regions.
According to him, terrorist groups operating in northern Nigeria have killed large numbers of Muslims in attacks on villages, mosques, markets, schools, and transport routes.
He said insurgent violence over the years has affected communities regardless of religious identity, although casualty distribution, in his view, shows Muslims have borne the greater numerical burden.
Boko Haram and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have for more than a decade carried out attacks across north-eastern Nigeria.
These attacks have included bombings, raids, abductions, and mass killings targeting both civilian and security locations.
Numerous attacks by insurgents have struck predominantly Muslim communities in states such as Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa, where entire villages have been displaced by conflict.
Security analysts have repeatedly noted that Boko Haram has killed Muslims it considers collaborators with the Nigerian state or those who reject its extremist ideology.
Mohammed said such realities are often ignored in international advocacy narratives that focus solely on Christian victimhood.
He argued that framing the violence exclusively as anti-Christian persecution risks distorting policy responses and undermining a fuller understanding of Nigeria’s security crisis.
At the same time, Christian communities in parts of Nigeria have also suffered deadly attacks from insurgents, armed groups, and communal violence.
Churches, clergy, worshippers, and Christian farming communities have been targeted in several high-profile incidents over the years.
Rights groups and church organizations have frequently raised concerns over killings, kidnappings, and attacks affecting Christian populations, particularly in parts of the Middle Belt.
This has led some international advocacy groups to push for stronger foreign pressure on Nigeria over religious freedom protections.
The issue gained prominence after the United States designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern in 2020 before later removing the designation in 2021, a decision that drew mixed reactions from advocacy organizations.
Supporters of redesignation argue that persistent violence against religious communities justifies renewed international scrutiny.
Others argue that Nigeria’s violence is multidimensional and cannot be accurately understood through religion alone.
Mohammed appeared to align with the latter position, emphasizing that terrorism in Nigeria affects both Muslims and Christians.
He suggested that casualty statistics should be interpreted within the broader context of where insurgent groups operate and which populations are most exposed to attacks.
Northern Nigeria, where much of the insurgency has occurred, contains large Muslim populations, which partly explains why Muslim casualties are numerically high.
Security experts say the drivers of violence in Nigeria differ by region.
In the north-east, insurgency remains the dominant threat, while in the north-west, banditry and mass kidnapping have become major security concerns.
In the Middle Belt, violence often involves disputes over land, resources, identity, and communal tensions.
In southern states, kidnapping, armed robbery, and separatist-linked violence present additional security challenges.
Analysts say these overlapping crises complicate efforts to classify all violence under a single framework.
Mohammed’s remarks add to ongoing national debate about how Nigeria’s insecurity should be described in diplomatic and policy discussions.
The broader question remains whether international engagement should focus primarily on religious persecution or on strengthening Nigeria’s overall capacity to address terrorism, criminal violence, and communal conflict.
What remains clear is that insecurity continues to exact a heavy human toll across Nigeria, with both Muslim and Christian communities suffering losses from years of armed violence.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments