In northeast Nigeria, renewed attacks by the extremist group Boko Haram in largely Christian-inhabited rural districts of Chibok and Askira‑Uba Local Government Areas of Borno State have sparked concern from both local and international actors, even as regional and international institutions caution against framing the violence as religious genocide.
Mohammed Ali Ndume, Senator for the Southern Borno senatorial district, has raised the alarm after several coordinated raids in his constituency. According to his press statement:
▪︎Four farmers were killed while harvesting in Kwam village (near Dille community, Askira-Uba LGA).
▪︎Militants burned a church and other infrastructure in Pemi.
▪︎A latest incursion into Shikarkir community in Chibok LGA was reported.
Meanwhile, the Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN), Plateau State Chapter, has strongly distanced itself from a recent report published by a newspaper on November 10, 2025 accusing the article of downplaying what it described as ongoing genocidal attacks against Christians in Plateau and other parts of Nigeria.
The Vanguard article, titled “Alleged Genocide: Nigeria not a country of concern – First Lady, CAN youths push back,” suggested that YOWICAN’s national leadership did not consider Nigeria a country of concern with regard to allegations of genocide. But in a statement issued on Thursday, the Plateau State chapter said the report was misleading and did not reflect the grim realities on the ground.
In his own statement on Borno State, Senator Ndume attributed the attacks partly to the inability of security agencies to effectively monitor remote rural communities.
Ndume commended the prompt relief efforts by Governor Babagana Zulum — via the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) — and praised troops of the Joint Task Force North East (“Operation Hadin Kai”) for their ongoing efforts. He renewed calls for enhanced troop deployments by the Chief of Defence Staff and the Army Chief to protect vulnerable communities.
This latest wave of attacks follows a broader warning earlier this year by Governor Zulum that Boko Haram was regaining momentum and dislodging military positions in Borno.
According to the Plateau YOWICAN leadership, the publication in the Vanguard newspaper offered a “polished narrative” that undermined the severity of what communities in Plateau, Benue, and other states are experiencing.
The state chapter condemned what it described as an attempt to politicise the killings of Christians, saying these attacks have resulted in mass displacement, destruction of communities, and widespread land grabbing.
“Scores of villages and communities have been sacked from their ancestral homes and farmlands, which are now occupied by marauders, terrorists and bandits,” the statement read.
Plateau YOWICAN Breaks From National Leadership
The group emphasised that it “completely disassociates” itself from the position attributed to the National Chairman of YOWICAN in the Vanguard publication. It urged him to visit Plateau State “to see the devastation and ruins for himself.”
The chapter described the report as a “mockery of the grief and losses of Christians in Nigeria,” insisting that abundant evidence pointed to what it called an “unprovoked genocide.”
‘This Is Genocide, Not Communal Conflict’
YOWICAN Plateau reiterated its long-standing position that the violence in the state cannot be framed as communal, ethnic, or tribal clashes.
“What is happening here is pure genocide in all its ramifications,” the statement said. “Our people are being killed virtually on a daily basis, our lands grabbed, our communities burned, and our homes taken over by our killers.”
The group dismissed the commonly used “farmer-herder clash” narrative as “a lie brewed from hell.”
Quoting official government records, YOWICAN Plateau stated that more than 11,749 people have been killed in Plateau State between 2001 and 2025. It added that numerous communities have either been destroyed or occupied, with thousands displaced.
Committee Findings Highlight Scale of Destruction
A Fact-Finding Committee led by retired Major General Nicholas Rogers was cited as confirming extensive loss and damage in affected communities:
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35% loss of livestock
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32.5% displacement of inhabitants
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16.8% destruction of food supply
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9.9% destruction of houses
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3.4% illegal land occupation
“These are not just numbers,” the statement stressed. “They represent human lives and entire communities erased.”
YOWICAN’s Demands to Government
The group called on both the Federal Government and the Plateau State Government to take urgent action, including:
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Officially recognizing the killings as religiously motivated genocide.
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Investigating and prosecuting perpetrators and sponsors of the attacks.
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Enabling displaced persons to return home, rebuild, and access farmlands.
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Strengthening security in all affected communities.
‘Enough Is Enough’
YOWICAN Plateau lamented the years of silence and unmarked burials that have followed the attacks, declaring that Christian communities can no longer endure the loss in silence.
“The world must hear, see and know the truth,” the statement added. “Christians in Plateau State and in Nigeria are under great persecution.”
The group also urged Christians to remain prayerful and vigilant, and to exercise their constitutional right to self-defense where necessary.
The statement was signed by Amb. Hon. Barr. Panmak Mark Lere, Chairman of YOWICAN Plateau State, and Ankuka Dekom Paul, Secretary of the chapter.
At the international level, the African Union Commission (AUC) has publicly rejected the categorisation of northern Nigeria’s violence as a genocide targeting Christians. AUC Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf told a UN briefing in New York:
“There is no genocide in northern Nigeria. The complexity of the situation in northern part of Nigeria should push us to think twice before making such statements. The first victims of Boko Haram are Muslims, not Christians.”
He said simplified religious narratives risk misrepresenting the underlying drivers — which include terrorism, displacement, competition over scarce resources — and stressed that both Christians and Muslims have suffered violence.
Meanwhile, the United States’ former President Donald Trump had earlier claimed that “very large numbers” of Christians were being killed in Nigeria and threatened suspension of U.S. aid and possible military intervention if the Nigerian government failed to act.
