₦airaland Forum

Former ECWA Secretary Backs US Senators’ Claim Of Targeted Attacks On Christians In Nigeria, Says Killings ‘Look Like Genocide’

A former General Secretary of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Rev. Yunusa Nmadu, has corroborated claims by US senators that Christians in Nigeria are facing a systematic genocide.

Speaking at a book launch in his honour at Kaduna State University on Thursday, Nmadu said, "There are many killings affecting Christian communities in Nigeria. Whether we call it genocide or not is another issue, but what looks like genocide is happening."

Nmadu implored the Nigerian government to take drastic action to halt the bloodshed.

"The Government must rise to protect not just Christians but all citizens, because what good is it if everyone dies in the name of politics?" he said.

He acknowledged that the current administration appears to be taking security matters seriously under the Chief of Defence Staff, but noted that insecurity had deeply infiltrated the nation's social fabric.

Nmadu lambasted the entrenched insecurity, revealing that "some insiders are using insecurity for their own benefit to make the government ungovernable."

He demanded that the sponsors of insecurity be identified and brought to justice, asserting, "To solve this, we must identify and cut off the sponsors."

He opposed the Niger State Governor's idea on regulating religious preaching, describing it as “ignorant” and a violation of the right to freedom of religion.

“Sometimes, as a pastor, the Holy Spirit can inspire you to say things beyond what you prepared. So, who do we obey, the government or the Holy Spirit?” he asked.

Nmadu also cautioned preachers against using the pulpit to promote division, urging them instead to remain faithful to the teachings of their holy books.

Reviewing the book, Prof. Helen Ando said it was not a mere biographical account of Nmadu’s life but a deep exploration of his character, values, and engagement in shaping an inclusive and dignified society.

“His involvement in promoting freedom of religion in Nigeria demonstrates how faith leaders can engage with government while practising their religion in harmony.

“The book captures the intersection of faith, church, and service to humanity, a reflection of the author’s passion for societal transformation," he said.

Several U.S. Senators, led by Ted Cruz, have accused Nigerian officials of enabling or ignoring targeted violence against Christians, prompting diplomatic tensions and strong rebuttals from Nigeria’s government and legislature.

Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, which seeks to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act.

It also seeks to impose targeted sanctions on Nigerian officials accused of facilitating violence against Christians or enforcing blasphemy laws.

Cruz and other Republican senators, including Josh Hawley, James Lankford, and Pete Ricketts, cited incidents such as the kidnapping of scores of Christian children by Ansaru militants in Niger State in May 2024, the killing of 70 Christians and abduction of 20 students in Benue State in August 2024 and the massacre of 200 Christians in Benue in June 2025.

Cruz claimed that over 52,000 Christians have been murdered since 2009, and 20,000 churches destroyed.

The Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives have rejected the genocide narrative, stating that the country’s insecurity is not religion-driven but caused by terrorism, banditry, communal violence, and insurgency affecting all faiths.

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Nmadu lambasted the entrenched insecurity, revealing that "some insiders are using insecurity for their own benefit to make the government ungovernable."

God will exposed the masquerade behind the killing, kidnapping, ARSONISTS the

, "There are many killings affecting Christian communities in Nigeria. Whether we call it genocide or not is another issue, but what looks like genocide is happening."

Rightly said sir 📌💯

ECWA was known as SIM (Sudan Interior Mission) and still has churches in remote areas in Nigeria particularly in north central, north east and north western states. ECWA has a school call EMS which trains children of missionary workers killed in the field. Your eyes will bleed when you see those kids . They are in their hundreds.
CAN are mostly pulpit bandits

Maybe in the south not in the north, we are not terrorist like Israel

that CAN are politician in pastoral robes

the same CAN that use its air plane to ship billions in cash to south africa some times ago.

this when this so call big men of gods need to talk out, some of them their churches and members are victims yet they keep shut, on sunday now them go dey quote whatever arriving for sermon with convoy and conning their followers that god will protect them and on the podium he saying that like 10 men dressed and looking like DSS officials are around him.

He can back it up with evidence, not just chocho.

true talk


Christians are endangered species in the country

They want to interject religion and insecurity…in recent times Muslims have suffered more in the hands of bandits and terrorists.

Why do Muslims only remember the death of their fellow Muslims at the hands of their fellow muslims WHEN CHRISTIANS COME TO RAISE AWARENESS about their deaths and displacement at the hands of Islamic terrorists

Lanretoye:
They want to interject religion and insecurity…in recent times Muslims have suffered more in the hands of bandits and terrorists.

After finishing all the christian, what next will follow , self implosion 🤷🏿. That's why sane minds are against it. I know how my very wealthy relatives collapsed their business empires and ran for their lives from potiskum, Yobe state because of Boko Haram. They're Muslims too, that town can never be the same

Don't threaten, support or DEFEND violent acts against any person, tribe, race, animals, or group (e.g. rape).

God bless you Sir. I was born in ECWA and we have experienced killings of our members since I was of age. I know my friends in the South have no idea of the persecution until Bokoharam declared a public war.

It is all jihad. The violent religion that claims to be peaceful is raiding the country. Just like ISIS they want an Islamic caliphate. They cannot persuade anyone to follow their violent religion rather they conquer lands with deception & violence and force people to accept their religion and to leave Islam is death. They even see their children as infidels if they leave the religion. Muslims are conquered people. They are not allowed to question anything. Just research the life of Mohammed and you will be out of the religion asap.

They want to punish Nigeria by all means. If you are not divided, they cannot benefit

OLAADEGBU:
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Nmadu lambasted the entrenched insecurity, revealing that "some insiders are using insecurity for their own benefit to make the government ungovernable."

The situation appears to have dimensions beyond what is being publicly presented. It’s important that Nigerians remain aware and discerning — this may not be purely a religious matter, but one with potential political implications.

There is a certain group of people in this country who love playing the victim card. I guess we all know who they are

MaziObinnaokija:
God will exposed the masquerade behind the killing, kidnapping, ARSONISTS the

We already know them. They are those people that their fake prophet told them to kill Jews and Christians

Christians Are Being Slaughtered In Nigeria As The World Looks Away
CBN News


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfzqSgDsfn8?si=UG8MMre2TRRwB5_B

donmixc:
Maybe in the south not in the north, we are not terrorist like Israel

Where did they kill Deborah Samuel again?!

The current one probably thinks otherwise. i am certain most of the popular and revered pastors think otherwise. There has been years of deadly insecurity, no doubt. But the claims that it is only targeted at Christians is either misguided or misleading.
Those criminals have razed cities, villages, farms, buses, markets, etc for years without asking if you know Jesus or not. It has had very very little to do with religion, but more to do with money, land grabbing, and political negligence.

Have we observed that insecurity has reduced a bit. The people supporting terrorists all the while are now panicking cos the US is taking note of the issue. Stop Nigerian Christians Genocide

Ethnic Cleansing Of Christians In Nigeria Exposed By Survivors
CBN News


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgvJ27FAq1k?si=7aM47TQjU82j04Si

One thing is sure, the information you think you're covering the US knows. I don't doubt them..

Let Politicians continue to hide information because of friendship and political ambitious. They can only deceived those who have not gone far to know how foreign countries get information and how authentic it is when they say something

Nigerian Journalist Exposes Barbaric Massacres Of Christians
CBN News


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtU38_p5H_c?si=txYutagHBIA-Ajt4

US Senate Committee Chair Decries 'Killings Of Christians' In Nigeria, Across Africa As ISIS Beheads 30 In Mozambique
October 10, 2025
NEWS

In a statement condemning the growing wave of religious persecution across Africa, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), has decried the continued killing of Christians by Islamist extremists, particularly in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Mozambique.

In a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday, Senator Risch said, "Faith should never be a death sentence. Yet across parts of Africa, Christians are hunted, butchered, and terrorized for their beliefs while the world looks away.

"In countries like Nigeria, DR Congo, and Mozambique, they are targeted by terrorists, exploited by elites to settle political and ethnic scores, and abandoned or betrayed by their own governments. This is not just a tragedy. It is a disgrace. Action is long overdue."

Senator Risch was responding to a report by The Evangelical Voice For Today, which stated that ISIS-linked militants had beheaded over 30 Christians in northern Mozambique in recent weeks, destroyed at least seven churches, and displaced more than 50,000 residents from Chiure District.

The militants, operating under the Islamic State Mozambique Province (ISMP), released 20 graphic photographs showing the beheadings, shootings, and arsons carried out during their latest assaults.

The recent attacks occurred across the Cabo Delgado and Nampula provinces, areas in northern Mozambique where Christians are a religious minority within predominantly Muslim communities.

Witnesses and reports indicate that ISMP forces targeted Christian civilians, setting fire to churches in Nacocha, Nacussa, Minhanha, and Nakioto villages, and destroying more than 100 homes in Nakioto alone.

According to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), ISMP claimed responsibility for a string of killings in late September, including the beheading of two Christians in Chiure-Velho village on September 25, the shooting of another Christian the following day, and the killing of four more believers in Macomia Town on September 28.

Another Christian was reportedly beheaded in Macomia District on September 29.

ISMP has been active in six districts of Mozambique, primarily in Cabo Delgado, where the group continues to push southward despite counterinsurgency efforts.

To curb the insurgency, Mozambique renewed a military alliance with neighboring Rwanda on August 27, under a Status of Forces Agreement that allows the Rwandan Defense Forces to continue joint operations in Cabo Delgado.

Rwanda first deployed troops to Mozambique in 2021 to help fight Islamist militants after years of bloodshed and displacement.

Since 2017, ISMP attacks have claimed more than 6,000 lives and displaced over one million people across northern Mozambique.

The group, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS), seeks to establish a strict Islamic caliphate in the region and has explicitly called for the killing of Christians as part of its extremist campaign titled “Kill Them Wherever You Find Them.”

Open Doors International, a global Christian watchdog organization, reports that Mozambique now ranks as the 37th most difficult country in the world to be a Christian, rising from 39th place in 2024.

According to Open Doors’ World Watch List 2025, more than 100 churches and Christian buildings in Mozambique were attacked or shut down in the past year, compared to only 10 in the previous year.

The group notes that Christian youth leaders and converts from Islam are particularly vulnerable to violence, forced marriages, and social ostracization.

Many converts reportedly lose inheritance rights or custody of their children after renouncing Islam.

Senator Risch’s comments echoed growing concerns in Washington over the worsening religious violence in Africa, particularly in Nigeria.

Several U.S. Senators, led by Ted Cruz, have accused Nigerian officials of enabling or ignoring targeted violence against Christians, prompting diplomatic tensions and strong rebuttals from Nigeria’s government and legislature.

Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, which seeks to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act.

It also seeks to impose targeted sanctions on Nigerian officials accused of facilitating violence against Christians or enforcing blasphemy laws.

Cruz claimed that over 52,000 Christians have been murdered since 2009, and 20,000 churches destroyed.

In its 2023 International Religious Freedom Report, the U.S. State Department documented extensive attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria by armed groups, including Fulani militants and Boko Haram, noting that thousands of Christians have been killed or displaced in the past decade.

The report accused Nigerian authorities of failing to prevent or prosecute perpetrators of religiously motivated violence.

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In a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday, Senator Risch said, "Faith should never be a death sentence. Yet across parts of Africa, Christians are hunted, butchered, and terrorized for their beliefs while the world looks away.

Because Muslims no dey come Nairaland to dey shout like you. Muslims are dying more than Christians and you know. Continue the propaganda thats what you are good at.
na all of you and your family go suffer am. Make we sha break, leave Yoruba out of it.

"There are many killings affecting Christian communities in Nigeria. Whether we call it genocide or not is another issue, but what looks like genocide is happening."

some insiders are using insecurity for their own benefit to make the government ungovernable.

donmixc:
Maybe in the south not in the north, we are not terrorist like Israel

Tell us who is killing who in the North...