Ted Cruz blames Nigeria for ‘mass murder’ of Christians: What’s the truth?

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United States Senator Ted Cruz has accused Nigeria’s authorities of enabling a “massacre” against Christians, citing a rising fig of attacks against the assemblage successful the country’s troubled centre.

In an X station connected Tuesday, Cruz said 50,000 Christians person been killed since 2009 with 2,000 schools and 18,000 churches destroyed by what helium called “Islamist” equipped groups, but helium did not mention sources for the information.

Who has said what?

Cruz blames Nigerian officials for what helium calls “Christian massacres”.

“It is the effect of decisions made by circumstantial people, successful circumstantial places, astatine circumstantial times – and it says a large woody astir who is lashing retired present that a airy is being shone connected these issues,” Cruz said successful his X post.

“The United States knows who those radical are, and I mean to clasp them accountable,” helium added without mentioning names.

In September, Cruz introduced what helium called the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, which, helium said, aims to clasp officials who “facilitate Islamic Jihadist unit and the imposition of blasphemy laws” accountable. The measure seeks to people officials who “facilitate unit against Christians” and those who enforce Islamic and blasphemy laws. It besides seeks to designate Nigeria arsenic a “country of peculiar concern” and Boko Haram arsenic good arsenic its splinter faction, the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate successful West Africa Province (ISWAP), arsenic “entities of peculiar concern”.

The US designated Boko Haram arsenic a “foreign violent organisation” successful 2013.

Similarly, Republican Congressman Riley Moore wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio connected Monday, urging him to designate Nigeria arsenic a state of peculiar interest “due to the alarming and ongoing persecution of Christians crossed the country”. He said successful his missive that 7,000 Christians person been killed successful Nigeria this twelvemonth by groups specified arsenic Boko Haram. He besides did not mention his sources but said: “Nigeria has go the deadliest spot successful the satellite to beryllium a Christian.”

Last week, Bill Maher, the big of the HBO existent affairs and governmental satire amusement Real Time With Bill Maher, besides made claims of a Christian genocide by Boko Haram, which helium said was being ignored due to the fact that “Jews aren’t involved” – a notation to the worldwide outrage implicit Israel’s genocide successful Gaza.

“I’m not a Christian, but they are systematically sidesplitting the Christians successful Nigeria,” helium said. “They’ve killed implicit 100,000 since 2009. They’ve burned 18,000 churches. … They [Boko Haram] are virtually attempting to hitch retired the Christian colonisation of an full country.”

It is unclear wherever Maher got his figures from.

The statements appeared to reflector President Donald Trump’s misleading instrumentality connected an alleged “genocide” of achromatic radical successful South Africa.

Have determination been attacks connected Christian communities successful Nigeria?

There are expanding attacks connected predominantly Christian farming communities successful Nigeria’s Middle Belt and cardinal states. Nighttime raids, burned villages, kidnappings and wide displacements are rife with communities accusing the authorities of mounting a anemic effect and failing to apprehension perpetrators.

The attackers are often identified by victims arsenic being herders from the rival Fulani pastoral taste group, which is predominantly Muslim.

In the region, which is Nigeria’s astir fertile, herder and farming communities person a agelong past of hostility and clashes. Analysts nexus the unit to dwindling entree to resources similar farm- and rangeland arsenic good arsenic h2o due to the fact that of clime alteration and colonisation growth.

The Nigerian authorities calls these attacks a “local farmer-herdsmen crisis” and has launched grassroots efforts to make dialog betwixt the 2 sides.

However, farming communities, which are non-Fulani and are disproportionately affected, spot much value connected the taste undertones and are outraged astatine the government’s unwillingness to item those.

As the attacks person grown successful standard and the weaponry utilized has increased, farming communities made up of divers taste groups are calling the attacks “ethnic cleansing”. Analysts said that portion the struggle whitethorn person started retired arsenic assets disputes, it is heavy connected to ethnicity and religion arsenic well. Reports of attacks and reprisals connected some sides spell backmost arsenic acold arsenic 2013, but caller unit has been focused connected farmers.

In an incidental successful June, herdsmen attacked the Tiv assemblage of Yelwata successful Benue State, killing more than 100 people. Tinubu and different officials visited the authorities and successful their statements applied the “farmer-herdsmen” framing. But the Tiv leader, James Ortese Iorzua Ayatse, was speedy to antagonistic them.

“What we are dealing with present successful Benue is simply a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal penetration and land-grabbing run by herder terrorists and bandits,” helium said.

In May, Amnesty International reported that astir 10,000 radical person been killed since 2023, including children, successful the worst affected states of Benue and Plateau, wherever gunmen termination radical and past destruct infrastructure similar schools, clinics, atom reserves, places of worship and boreholes. More than 500,000 radical person been displaced.

Kaduna and Nasarawa states person besides been heavy impacted. The authorities, Amnesty International said, person failed to marque arrests oregon prosecute people, prompting choler and mistrust.

Are these attacks linked to Boko Haram?

Cruz and others connected the US close whitethorn person muddled those attacks with abstracted conflicts successful Nigeria’s northeastern states, including Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

These are perpetuated by ideological groups – Boko Haram and ISWAP. Both Christians and Muslims, churches and mosques, person been attacked successful these states with Muslims astir affected due to the fact that these are Muslim-majority states.

The ideological equipped groups are seeking to make a authorities based connected their mentation of Islamic law.

Borno, wherever Boko Haram emerged successful the aboriginal 2000s, is the astir affected. At its tallness successful 2015, Boko Haram controlled swaths of territory crossed Nigeria and neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon. It has weakened importantly successful caller years. About 350,000 radical had been killed by 2021 successful the Boko Haram conflict, according to the United Nations Development Programme.

Separately, bandit groups are operating successful the northwestern states of Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger and Nasarawa, mostly for profit. They often behaviour kidnappings for ransom and raids connected communities. Although they often enlistee from the Fulani community, they are not exclusively made up of members of this group.

However, analysts person noted that bandits are progressively cooperating with ideological equipped groups seeking to grow their territory. That has made the antithetic crises much fluid with overlaps. Analysts said Nigeria’s information apparatus is overwhelmed and struggles to stitchery capable quality to recognize the grade to which these groups collaborate truthful it tin respond efficiently to them.

Fulani nomadic communities – which tin beryllium recovered successful Nigeria, Ghana and crossed Sahelian countries similar Mali – person agelong faced systemic governmental and societal exclusion though governments often reason that their pastoral quality makes it hard to supply resources similar schools, clinics and different services.

Many of them, analysts said, person nursed grievances for a agelong time. With the emergence of almighty equipped ideological groups looking to exploit their anger, analysts said much members of the assemblage are being recruited for transgression purposes and ideological attacks.

Fulani herders person likewise been linked to equipped groups operating successful Mali and Burkina Faso similar Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM).

Legitimate Fulani herder associations, however, insisted that not each Fulani herders are engaged successful transgression oregon equipped struggle and decry stereotypes of the group.

What has the Nigerian authorities said?

Last week, Nigeria’s accusation curate responded to Maher’s comments successful a statement, saying they were overly simplistic.

“Portraying Nigeria’s information challenges arsenic a targeted run against a azygous spiritual radical is simply a gross misrepresentation of reality,” Mohammed Idris Malagi said.

“While Nigeria, similar galore countries, has faced information challenges, including acts of coercion perpetrated by criminals, couching the concern arsenic a deliberate, systematic onslaught connected Christians is inaccurate and harmful. It oversimplifies a complex, multifaceted information situation and plays into the hands of terrorists and criminals who question to disagreement Nigerians on spiritual oregon taste lines,” helium said.

In an sentiment piece for Al Jazeera, Gimba Kakanda, a peculiar adjunct to the vice president, wrote that the situation is much astir taste rivalries than it is astir religion.

“In reality, Nigeria’s conflicts are multifaceted, driven by taste rivalries, onshore disputes and criminality, with religion often secondary,” Kakanda wrote. “While Western media often item attacks connected churches and Christian communities, the world is that these terrorists are indiscriminate successful their violence.”

The absorption connected Nigeria, Kakanda said, was linked to Vice President Kashim Shettima’s stated enactment for Palestinians astatine the caller UN General Assembly.

Abimbola Ayuba, a spokesperson for the Christian Association of Nigeria, told Nigeria’s The Guardian paper that the country’s myriad crises were being exploited by overseas groups.

“Sometimes, our concern is being taken vantage of by groups who cognize that they payment from overseas interests,” helium was quoted arsenic saying.

“Those overseas interests person a close to poke their noses into what’s going connected successful our system, but we besides person a close to study things arsenic they are,” helium added.

What astir the claims of blasphemy and Islamic law?

Cruz, successful his caller bill, again lumped unneurotic the abstracted contented of blasphemy and Islamic instrumentality with the Middle Belt attacks.

Twelve Muslim-majority Nigerian states successful the country’s northbound use Islamic law, arsenic is allowed by the 1999 Nigerian Constitution. They are Zamfara, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto and Yobe.

Islamic instrumentality successful these states is meant to beryllium applied lone to Muslims though the US noted successful a 2019 study that authorities governments did not ever adhere to that clause.

Blasphemy, which pertains to insults against Islam oregon notable Islamic figures, carries superior punishments nether Islamic law. Some scholars construe it arsenic requiring the decease condemnation though this is highly disputed.

In 2022, Kano State sentenced atheist Mubarak Bala to 24 years successful situation for what prosecutors claimed was a blasphemous Facebook post. The lawsuit generated nationwide outrage and calls for his release. Bala was freed successful 2020.

There person been intermittent cases of illegal, deadly mob enactment against radical who are perceived to person blasphemed successful the Muslim-majority north.

In 2022, Christian pupil Deborah Yakubu was killed by Muslim students astatine her assemblage successful Sokoto for alleged blasphemy. The lawsuit caused nationwide condemnation. Two men were arrested and charged with transgression conspiracy and nationalist disturbance, which rights groups protested against. A magistrate’s tribunal struck down the lawsuit successful 2023, citing mediocre prosecution.

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