The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has officially declared 2025 as the year Muslims in Nigeria confronted an unprecedented wave of anti-Islamic sentiment, triggered by what it called the “spurious” narrative of a “Christian genocide.”
This declaration, issued in a statement by the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Alh. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, was accompanied by a call for Nigerian Muslims to begin searching for the crescent of Ramadan on February 17.
The NSCIA’s statement, signed by Secretary-General Professor Is-haq Oloyede, highlighted the intense challenges faced by Muslims in Nigeria and across the globe during the past year.
It accused certain factions, including secessionist groups and biased religious leaders, of intentionally distorting narratives about the country’s security issues in order to tarnish Islam’s reputation.
The Council strongly denounced the growing Islamophobic rhetoric, which it claims paints Muslims as aggressors in a country where they are, in reality, victims of terrorism, banditry, and other forms of violence.
The statement pointed to several tragic incidents, such as the underreported massacre of 200 Muslims in Kwara State, to underscore that the Muslim community’s suffering is often erased or misrepresented by the media.
NSCIA further lamented the failure of the Nigerian media to act with fairness and objectivity, accusing journalists of deliberately misrepresenting Islam and Muslims. The statement cited the 2015 Yunusa (Muslim) versus Eze Oruru (Christian) case as an example of how the media sensationalized the abduction of a Christian minor, labeling it a “Muslim jihad” conspiracy. This portrayal, according to the NSCIA, led to a biased trial that unfairly targeted the Muslim community.
In contrast, the NSCIA pointed out that the media had remained silent on a similar incident in 2026, where a Christian man, Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi, allegedly abducted and forcibly converted a Muslim minor, Walida Abdullahi, to Christianity. No media outlets condemned Christianity, nor did they frame the incident as part of a broader agenda against Muslims, the statement noted.
The NSCIA also criticized the media’s handling of the death of Deborah, a Muslim woman allegedly murdered for blasphemy, emphasizing that the outcry was magnified because a Muslim mob was involved. On the other hand, the Council pointed out that the murder of Pastor Dio Idon by a Christian mob in Southern Kaduna, which took place in early 2026, was largely ignored by the press.
This statement is a strong call to action for Nigerian Muslims to unite in the face of what the NSCIA describes as an ongoing campaign to demonize Islam and its followers, even as they endure persistent violence and marginalization.
The NSCIA’s release serves as a scathing critique of both the media’s role in perpetuating anti-Muslim sentiment and the wider societal forces that seek to manipulate religious narratives for political gain. The Council’s call to action stresses that the struggles of Muslims must not be overlooked, and that all Nigerians must demand justice and equality, regardless of their faith.
As 2025 unfolds, it remains to be seen how the Nigerian government, media, and religious communities will respond to these allegations and whether the growing divide between Muslim and Christian communities in Nigeria can be healed.