Former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Ayokunle, has thrown his weight behind United States President Donald Trump’s warning to Nigeria over the alleged genocide against Christians, describing the situation as “a glaring reality the government can no longer deny.”
In an exclusive interview, Ayokunle said the claim of Christian genocide is not a fabrication but a tragic truth that has persisted for over a decade. He accused the Nigerian government of negligence and complicity in the ongoing crisis, which he says has left thousands dead and several communities occupied by attackers.
> “It is not a claim but the situation on the ground. Many Christian communities have been deliberately levelled, and those who destroyed them now occupy their lands in Plateau, Benue, and Southern Kaduna. I have seen it myself,” he stated.
Recalling one such incident, Ayokunle recounted a brutal attack in Miango, Plateau State, where 21 people were killed overnight, including 20 members of the Nigerian Baptist Convention under his leadership.
> “They warned me not to visit the community, saying I could vanish. But I said, ‘If I perish, I perish.’ The attackers returned two weeks later to finish the job. How can such carnage occur in a nation that claims to have a military and police?”
“Christians Are the Targets”
Reacting to claims that Muslims have also been victims of the violence, Ayokunle dismissed such statements as an attempt to downplay the genocide.
> “That is the most disgusting statement I have ever heard. Yes, others have been killed, but Christians are being targeted. The perpetrators are mostly extremists from the Muslim side, and their goal has always been clear—wipe out Christianity from Northern Nigeria.”
He linked the crisis to the rise of Boko Haram, citing the group’s early declarations under Mohammed Yusuf and Abubakar Shekau to eliminate Western civilisation and Christianity from Nigeria.
> “They even warned Christians to vacate the North. They made
their intentions public. If the government now defends them or downplays their agenda, then it is complicit,” he added.
“Trump’s Warning Is a Wake-Up Call”
On President Trump’s recent threat to deploy U.S. forces to Nigeria if the killings persist, Ayokunle said the move should serve as a wake-up call to Nigeria’s “clueless and insensitive government.”
> “If the international community now finds the situation embarrassing, why is our government not ashamed? They’ve had 16 years to act but have failed. Instead, they are obsessed with the 2027 election while blood flows daily.”
He said he would support foreign intervention if it would restore peace and safety to Nigeria.
> “If Trump’s military action will bring peace, so be it. Nigerians want to live freely in their own country. Our leaders act like imbeciles, doing nothing while people are being slaughtered. Trump is not one to make empty threats—they should not dare him,” Ayokunle warned.
“Government Has Lost Its Moral Compass”
Reacting to the Federal Government’s dismissal of the genocide claims, Ayokunle called their response “a disgrace,” noting that current leaders once accused their predecessors of failing to stop Christian persecution.
> “When Tinubu and his allies protested in 2014, they called on the world to intervene over killings of Christians. What has changed now? The hypocrisy is staggering,” he said.
The cleric stressed that the government must stop playing politics with human lives, insisting that silence in the face of mass killings—whether of Christians or Muslims—amounts to moral bankruptcy.
“A government that cannot protect its citizens has failed. Leaders who defend such failure are wicked. They will one day answer to God for innocent bloodshed,” he declared.
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