Following the execution of five aid workers by Islamic extremists, a leading Catholic Bishop in Nigeria has argued that systemic violence against Nigerian Christians constitutes genocide.
The Bishop, Mathew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto, told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that, in his view, the recent violence was genocidal in character. He stressed, however, that Christians were not the only victims of recent unrest, as the killings “have been far worse in the predominantly Muslim north in such states as Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara.” Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) justi-fied their murder of five aid workers as a warning to “all those being used by infidels to convert Muslims to Christianity” – some-thing that indicated, the Bishop said, that extremists are not only targeting Christians.
A video of the killings, the victims of which were employees of international NGOs, was released by the Islamist group. Although the group has avoided executing Muslim civilians in the past, this appears to be changing as the conflict continues.
Implying that the Nigerian government is complicit in the unrest, Bishop Kukah also criti-cised western countries for not doing more. He said: “We hear promises from the United States and Europe and they all come to nothing.”
Nigeria is ranked number twelve on the persecution charity Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of countries where Christians are the most in danger for practising their faith.