Akpabio’s Shameful Deflection: Betraying Nigeria’s Christians in Crisis
In recent weeks, a chorus of voices from the United States Congress and international advocacy groups has amplified grave concerns regarding the systematic persecution and targeted killings of Christians in Nigeria. Prominent figures, including Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman Riley Moore, have publicly decried what they describe as a “mass murder” of Christians, with estimates citing over 100,000 deaths since 2009 and more than 7,000 in the past year alone. These statements, coupled with calls for redesignating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for religious freedom violations, underscore a pattern of violence attributed largely to radical Fulani militants and other non-state actors. Yet, in a response that has drawn sharp criticism, Senate President Godswill Akpabio has sought to deflect these allegations, framing the issue not as targeted religious persecution but as generalized insecurity affecting all Nigerians, while subtly implicating IPOB, the Biafran self-determination groups in Nigeria’s old eastern region. This maneuver not only evades accountability but also exemplifies a profound insensitivity to the victims and their communities.
The Deflection and Its Implications
Akpabio’s rebuttal, delivered during Senate proceedings, posits that violence in Nigeria transcends religious lines, citing incidents such as the 2014 Kano mosque bombing and attacks in Plateau and Katsina as evidence of indiscriminate suffering. While acknowledging the toll on both Muslims and Christians, this is a deliberate attempt to dilute what the Christian community has had to endure and continues to endure, thereby shifting focus from the predominant targeting of Christian communities. Such rhetoric serves to dilute the specificity of the crisis, portraying it as a mere byproduct of broader instability rather than a deliberate campaign against a vulnerable Christian population, vulnerable by its peaceful disposition.
This approach is particularly egregious given the context. Only an individual deeply aligned with entrenched power structures—a “Fulani puppet” in critical discourse—could so shamelessly attribute these atrocities to IPOB, a group advocating for Biafran self-determination without evidence of involvement in anti-Christian violence or any violence at all.
Blaming IPOB appeases the apparent perpetrators, including Fulani oligarchs and collaborators—the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN)—at the expense of truth and justice. This deflection constitutes the height of insensitivity toward those who have lost loved ones, as it minimizes the agony of families shattered by targeted assaults on places of worship and farming communities.
Akpabio’s Silence on Fellow Christians’ Plight and the Revelation of Hypocrisy
Compounding this insensitivity is Akpabio’s conspicuous failure to issue a categorical condemnation of the killings targeting his fellow Christians. Despite his position as Senate President and a professed Christian, public records reveal no standalone denouncement of these faith-based atrocities. Instead, his statements generalize the violence, warning against “framing insecurity along religious lines” and emphasizing mutual victimhood. This equivocation stands in stark contrast to the urgency expressed by global advocates and erodes trust in leadership from within affected communities.
To be unequivocal: IPOB bears no responsibility for the killings of Christians in Nigeria. Extensive reports from organizations like the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and Amnesty International attribute the violence primarily to Fulani herdsmen militias and Islamist extremists, not pro-Biafran activists. Attempting to spin culpability onto IPOB is not only dishonest but intellectually bankrupt, particularly from a figure who maintains a private chapel in his residence—a space ostensibly dedicated to Christian devotion—yet remains mute on these horrors. This evasion is hardly surprising when viewed through the lens of recent disclosures by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central. In public statements amid her own controversies with Akpabio—including allegations of workplace harassment—Akpoti-Uduaghan highlighted the Senate President’s home chapel not as a bastion of Christian piety but as emblematic of personal contradictions. It is obvious that the home-built chapel honors the goddess Aphrodite, a classical deity of lust and sex, rather than Jesus Christ—a claim that underscores a profound disconnect between Akpabio’s professed faith and his actions.
Biafrans as Primary Victims: A Demographic Reality
Understanding the depth of this betrayal requires contextualizing the demographics of Nigeria’s Biafran region, encompassing the predominantly Igbo southeast. This area boasts over 90% Christian adherence, rendering it a focal point for religious persecution. Beyond their homeland, Biafrans form the second-largest population group in other regions, surpassed only by indigenous populations, which amplifies their exposure to intercommunal and faith-motivated violence.
Consequently, Biafrans emerge as among the highest victims of Christian-targeted killings nationwide—second only to indigenous Christians in non-southeast regions. They are not perpetrators but enduring targets, their advocacy through IPOB a cry for protection rather than aggression. Any narrative implicating them in these crimes distorts reality and perpetuates injustice.
Toward Accountability and Justice
The international spotlight on Nigeria’s Christian persecutions offers a pivotal moment for introspection. Senator Akpabio’s deflections, rooted in political expediency, betray the very constituents he serves and dishonor the memory of the slain. True leadership demands unequivocal condemnation of targeted violence, recognition of Biafrans as victims rather than villains, and reforms to dismantle the networks enabling these atrocities. As global pressure mounts—with Nigerian lawmakers planning a U.S. delegation—Nigeria must confront this crisis head-on, lest the silence of figures like Akpabio echo as complicity.
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