Int’l Coalition Against Christian Genocide laments, petitions against US, others over neglect

By Our Correspondent

A Phillipines based organisation, International Coalition Against Christian Genocide in Nigeria (ICAC-GEN) has petitioned the United States of America on discriminatory treatment of issues of genocide as they affect Nigeria.

In a petition dated January 18, 2024 and published on page 14 of Nigerian Pilot, a national newspaper on Monday, January 29, titled “Non-Inclusion of Nigeria among the ‘2023 countries of particular concern special watch list countries, entities of particular concern’ defines the United States as an accomplice in Genocide,” ICAC-GEN accused the US variously.

The strongly-worded petition addressed to Antony J Blinken, United States Secretary of State notes among other things that the non-inclusion of Nigeria in the said list shows that US under President Joe Biden is selective in its definition of what constitutes genocide, an accessory to the on-going persecution, vicious kidnappings and associated payment of vile ransoms, capped with mass killing of defenseless Christian population of Nigeria by government-protected bandits, herdsmen, Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram.

The ICAC-GEN further reminds President Biden that what is currently taking place in Nigeria against Nigerian Christian population on one hand and the Christian Middle Belt region on the other hand amounts to genocide jointly defined by the United Nations and Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on genocide and crimes against humanity being perpetrated by the Nigerian government at the centre.

Furthermore, the ICAC-GEN is awed that the USA which professes to be God’s Own Country with a strong and proud Christian foundation, an epicenter of freedom of religious worship and protector of global democracy could feign ignorance of the magnitude and religious dimension of the on-going targeted and repeated massacre of Christians in both the Middle Belt and Southern Regions of Nigeria by bandits of armed insurgents in multiple garbs of armed bandits and herdsmen, Boko Haram insurgents and ISWAP which since 2015 have so far surpassed the cases of the on-going Israel-Hamas War, Ukrainian Bakmut and Rwandan genocide.

ICAC-GEN also notes that from May 29, 2015 when the ruling All Nigeria Progressives Congress (APC) came into power, the amount of innocent Christian bloodshed on the altar of political conspiracy that took place in places like Southern Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Enugu and Southern Borno where indigenous Christians are predominant have adopted the frequent sad events of burying their kinsmen as part of their immutable ugly culture cannot be quantified.

“We have witnessed our priests and Christian brethren attacked by Boko Haram, ISWAP, herdsmen and bandits callously slaughtered with some beheaded and executed in ISIS-style live video showmanship while the fortunate ones got released after the payment of huge sums of money as ransom,” ICAC-GEN notes.

The petition, which is signed by Dr Nwankwo T Nwazeigwe as President and Dr Chukwuka J Odunukwe as Vice President, is copied to Congressman Mike Johnson, Speaker, US House of Representatives; Senator James Lankford, Chair, Congressional Prayer Caucus; Chair, Congressional Black Caucus Congressman Steven Horsford and Co-Chairs, Bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations, Congresswoman Nikema Williams, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Congressman Wesley Hunt.