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No proof of Christian genocide in Nigeria, AU insists
Mahmoud Youssouf, chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, has said there is no evidence of targeted Christian killings in northern Nigeria.
Speaking to journalists at the United Nations in New York, Youssouf stressed that the security situation in the region is too complex to be categorised as Christian genocide.
He explained that Boko Haram’s earliest victims were Muslims, not Christians, noting that this fact is backed by documented evidence. According to him, attempts to frame the crisis as genocide oversimplify the realities on the ground.
“The first victims of Boko Haram are Muslims, not Christians. And I’m saying it with documented references,” he said. He added that northern Nigeria’s insecurity cannot be described “with such very easy words that can be used in not reasonable way”.
Youssouf said the AU has been consistent in its position, insisting again that “there is no genocide in northern Nigeria”.
The comment follows renewed claims of Christian genocide pushed across social media and amplified by some high-profile political figures in the United States.
Some US lawmakers recently urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take immediate diplomatic action against Nigeria over what they described as the “systematic persecution and slaughter of Christians”.
In reaction to those concerns, former US President Donald Trump designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern (CPC)” for alleged Christian persecution and warned that the Nigerian government must “move fast” or risk losing all US aid.
He further threatened to unleash the department of war against terrorists attacking Christian communities.
While the Nigerian government has strongly rejected the allegations, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) maintains that Christian communities across the country have continued to suffer repeated and brutal attacks.

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