The Secretary of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigerian, PFN, Abia State chapter, Reverend Blessed Amalambu has faulted the statement credited to Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Mathew Kukah concerning reports of Genocide against Nigerian Christians.
Amalambu said that Bishop Kukah’s statement was insensitive and did not reflect the terrible experiences of Christians in parts of Nigeria for some years.
The PFN Secretary, who was speaking to journalists in Umuahia on Tuesday, contended that the scale and pattern of killings, church burnings and displacement in certain regions indicate that Christians were being systematically targeted.
“Episodes of communal violence, terrorist assaults on rural communities and repeated attacks on places of worship have created a climate of fear that many believers interpret as an existential threat,” he said.
Addressing Kukah’s assertion that the situation did not meet the threshold of genocide, Amalambu argued that the definition extends beyond numbers to include deliberate targeting of people based on identity.
According to the Abia PFN Secretary, when communities are repeatedly attacked, their homes destroyed and their inhabitants pushed into displacement camps, the intent behind such violence must be carefully examined.
He further referenced long standing concerns raised by local and international observers about rising insecurity in several Northern States, including incidents in Borno, Plateau, Benue and Niger.
Amalambu acknowledged that terrorism and banditry have affected both Christians and Muslims but insisted that the frequency of attacks on Christian communities required urgent humanitarian attention.