The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has come hard on the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), accusing it of betraying President Bola Ahmed Tinubu despite what it described as the President’s overwhelming goodwill toward Christians.
The outrage follows former U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to return Nigeria to the list of “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC) over alleged Christian genocide, a decision MURIC blames partly on the actions of some Christian leaders.
In an explosive statement signed by its Founder and Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, the Islamic rights group condemned what it called deliberate attempts by Christian leaders to tarnish Nigeria’s image abroad.
“Despite vehement denial of Christian genocide by the Nigerian government, US President Donald Trump yesterday redesignated Nigeria as a country of particular concern,” Akintola said.
MURIC described the U.S. move as a distortion of reality, insisting the reports of targeted Christian killings were misleading and politically motivated.
“This redesignation is blurred, misplaced and distorted. It is a complete misrepresentation of the true picture on ground in Nigeria,” the statement read.
The group accused unnamed Christian leaders of secretly petitioning U.S. authorities, while CAN allegedly endorsed those claims instead of rejecting them.
“But instead of dissipating energy on debating the rationality or otherwise for the redesignation, we will rather turn our attention to the fifth columnists in our midst.
“It will be recalled that certain Christian leaders had written frivolous petitions to the US Congress claiming that Christians were the only ones being killed by terrorists in Nigeria. Instead of debunking this false and misleading narrative, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) simply amplified it,” Akintola added.
Expressing disappointment, MURIC said CAN’s stance was unbecoming of a national body that should promote unity and truth.
“We are nonplussed by the actions of these Christian leaders, most especially that of CAN, which is expected to know better,” it said.
MURIC accused the association of ingratitude, stressing that President Tinubu had given Christians more appointments and privileges than any administration in recent history.
“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,” MURIC said.
“The president himself confirmed that 62% of all appointments went to the Christians. The First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu, was even more generous to them than Father Christmas. In spite of all that was done for Nigerian Christians by this administration, they still deemed it fit to take Nigeria to the enabler of Gaza genocide,” it added.
Calling it “the Mother of all Betrayals,” MURIC said President Tinubu did not deserve such treatment.
“President Tinubu does not deserve this. It is the Mother of all Betrayals, and we denounce those behind the report in the strongest terms,” the group declared.
The Islamic body concluded that while the U.S. may have its own political motives, some Nigerians were complicit by feeding Washington with what it described as “distorted, divisive, and damaging narratives.”
