Opinion

Churches, Schools, And Mosques In The North Must Strengthen Security Measures

By Misbahu El-Hamza

I feared more attacks would be triggered on innocent people in already vulnerable states since the claim of a “Christian genocide” began circulating widely, especially after it was amplified with strong support from groups and influential people inside Nigeria.

Anyone familiar with geopolitics and conflict dynamics elsewhere knows how quickly such narratives can fuel violence. These terrorist groups follow national and international conversations, and they and their sponsors adjust their actions to exploit them.

The report of yesterday’s attack on Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, and the kidnapping of 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi one day earlier did not surprise me for this reason. 

My concern is that this narrative, driven largely from outside Nigeria, is intended to widen divisions between Muslims and non-Muslims and to attract funding linked to possible U.S. intervention. Campaigns like this in other places have shown that their proponents benefit from chaos, and they often go to great lengths to produce evidence that fits their claims.

Just this week, we have already seen how misinformation is used to build the current claim of Christian genocide in Nigeria targeted at foreign audience. Here are three instances:

1. On November 15, the American-based Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN News) used a photo of a Muslim funeral to portray Christians killed in large numbers. Whereas in reality, it was a mass killing of Muslims by terrorists. Not even Nigerian Christians need to wait for fact-checkers to expose it. But despite calls even from concerned Christians, the network has yet to pull down the image or issue a clarification statement.

2. We also saw a U.S. lawmaker, Riley Moore, on November 18, wrongly describe the abducted schoolgirls in Kebbi as “Christians in a Christian enclave,” even though the victims and their community were Muslim. I checked, and he also didn’t pull down or correct the tweet at the time of writing this piece, despite several people, including national papers, calling him out. 

3. This morning, November 19, a video circulated online showing masked men in a forest claiming to be bandits or Boko Haram and threatening Igbo communities in the East. The accents, staging, and delivery raise serious doubts about authenticity. It obviously looks like an attempt to inflame tension and provoke fear.

These ‘errors’ by CBN News and Rep. Moore and staged video allegedly by OPOB members are narratives that do not happen by accident. They sustain a storyline that misrepresents Nigeria’s complex reality and risks provoking violence between citizens on top of ongoing terrorist attacks. We must treat such content with caution.

Because of these risks, I urge all churches and boarding schools in the North to strengthen security measures. All of us. Because those pushing this destructive narrative will not stop at one target. The steps we all took during the years of Boko Haram attacks are still relevant.

Entry should pass through monitored gates; bags should be checked by trusted volunteers; volunteers should watch entrances and perimeters; local mosques, churches, and vigilantes should share information quickly; and suspicious behaviour or abandoned vehicles should be reported immediately.

And yes, I know that these measures cannot stop determined terrorists carrying guns, as it happened in Eruku, but they reduce exposure and delay entry long enough to save lives. And close coordination with local security units, who can respond faster than individual volunteers.

Although it’s unfortunate that despite a police division close to the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku and a military barracks not less than 3 kilometers nothing was done quickly to respond to the terrorists. We just hope our security men and women can do better going forward.

We are in this situation because governments have failed to protect citizens or confront insecurity with seriousness. But while we continue to demand accountability, we must also protect our communities with the tools we have.

May we all witness the end of this trial soon. Amin.