Senate President Godswill Akpabio, issued a strong caution against defining Nigeria’s ongoing security challenges through a religious lens.
He firmly stated during plenary on Thursday, October 9, in Abuja that terrorists and bandits attack Nigerians indiscriminately, without regard for their faith.
Akpabio’s comments came as he weighed in on a motion concerning alleged religious persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
The debate followed reports that some foreign governments were considering sanctions against Nigeria over claims of religious intolerance.
He cautioned that describing terrorism as a battle between Christians and Muslims was misleading and dangerous to national unity.
“When they come and start spraying bullets or throw a rocket, they are not targeting a particular religion. They are killing Nigerians.
“We are facing a situation where terrorists are trying to terminate lives and frustrate us from going into farms to produce food,” Akpabio said.
According to him, the religion of victims often depends on where an attack happens.
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“If terrorism occurs in a Christian-dominated state, most of the victims will be Christians. If it happens in a Muslim-dominated area, the victims will mostly be Muslims,” he explained.
The Senate President warned against allowing foreign narratives, especially from Western countries, to shape perceptions about Nigeria’s security crisis.
He proposed that a delegation of lawmakers visit the United States to explain the country’s true situation.
“Some people must have gone there to give a one-sided story,” he said, noting that sanctions based on such misinformation would “breed poverty,” affecting both Christians and Muslims alike.
Akpabio also pointed to killings in the Southeast, including that of Dr. Chike Akunyili, as proof that insecurity in Nigeria is not religiously motivated. “You see brothers killing brothers,” he lamented.
He called on lawmakers to focus on finding practical solutions to counter-terrorism rather than deepening divisions.
“Nigeria has complex security situations. If we start listing where Muslims or Christians were killed, we are not helping the situation,” he said.
His comments come as the U.S. Senate considers the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, a bill that could impose sanctions on Nigerian officials over alleged religious persecution, an accusation the Nigerian government continues to reject.