The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has accused the Nigerian media of sidelining Islamic scholars and Muslim perspectives in ongoing national discussions about alleged Christian genocide in the country.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the organisation’s Executive Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, said both print and electronic media have “excluded Islamic scholars in particular and Nigerian Muslims in general” from the debate, describing the development as unprofessional and unbalanced.
“The Muslims are being framed. Worse still, they are gagged by the press. They are voiceless, oppressed and repressed,” Akintola said. “The question on our lips is: when will the media hear from the Muslims?”
Akintola argued that while Christian clerics are granted “unlimited opportunities” on media platforms to make allegations, Muslims accused in those narratives are not invited to respond. He cited a 10 November interview with Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo on News Central TV, alleging that no Muslim scholar from the cleric’s community had been invited to offer a counter-perspective.
He added that Muslims from the same area, under the Mangu Concerned Muslim Consultative Forum, had released statements countering Dachomo’s claims, alleging instead that Christians in the North Central had perpetrated “systematic genocide” against Muslims for over two decades.
MURIC criticised media houses for neglecting the principle of balance, warning that perceived bias could exacerbate tensions. “Television and radio stations, including newspapers, must find a way of dousing cyber tension. Litigations may not leave out media houses found to have been negligent or corroborative in public incitement,” Akintola said.
The organisation also faulted what it described as declining professionalism in reportage, insisting that Muslims—especially in the North West and North East—are also victims of violence whose stories are underreported. “At least the whole world knows that those being killed by terrorists in Sokoto, Borno, Katsina, Zamfara, Kano, Kebbi, Yobe, etc., are Muslims,” the statement noted.
MURIC further accused some media organisations of “programming Nigerians to hate Muslims,” warning that incitement through biased reporting could lead to unrest.
READ ALSO: Mahdi Shehu Warns U.S. Invasion Would Harm Both Christians, Muslims
The group called on regulatory bodies such as the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Nigerian Press Council (NPC), and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) to intervene and enforce fair coverage.
“We frown at this parochial path of exclusivity trodden by the Nigerian media. We demand to know when Muslims will be given a place at the table,” Akintola said, adding that a debate that excludes Muslims “cannot be a national conversation.”
The intervention comes amid heightened discussions following the October 31, 2025 designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” by U.S. President Donald Trump over alleged religious-freedom violations. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has consistently maintained that a Christian genocide is underway, citing years of targeted attacks and insecurity across the country.