Media sidelining Muslims in Christian genocide discussion — MURIC

By : Guardian Nigeria

Date: 7 December 2025 5:28pm WAT

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MURIC

MURIC

The Muslim Rights Concern on Saturday criticised what it described as the exclusion of Islamic scholars and Muslim perspectives from national conversations on alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria.

In a statement issued in Lagos, the group’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said both print and electronic media have “excluded Islamic scholars in particular and Nigerian Muslims in general” from the debate, arguing that the approach lacks balance.

Akintola said Muslims are being portrayed unfairly without being offered a right of reply. “The Muslims are being framed. Worse still, they are gagged by the press. They are voiceless, oppressed and repressed… The question on our lips is: when will the media hear from the Muslims?” he said.

He accused media organisations of granting Christian clerics “unlimited opportunities” to make allegations on air while failing to invite Muslim representatives from affected communities to respond. He referenced a recent interview with Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo on News Central TV, noting that the station had not hosted a Muslim scholar from the same locality to address the claims.

According to Akintola, Muslims in areas affected by communal violence also have accounts that are not being reflected in news coverage. He cited statements issued by the Mangu Concerned Muslim Consultative Forum in Plateau State, which accused Christian groups of long-standing attacks on Muslim residents.

MURIC argued that the pattern of coverage risks deepening tensions. Akintola cautioned that “television and radio stations, including newspapers, must find a way of dousing cyber tension,” adding that media houses negligent in their reporting could face legal action.

He further warned that selective platforming “poisons the minds of the general public… against Islam and its followers,” stating that one-sided narratives are capable of inciting unrest.

The group urged regulatory bodies, including the National Broadcasting Commission and Nigerian Press Council, to ensure fairness in reporting issues relating to religious conflict. “We frown at this parochial path of exclusivity trodden by the Nigerian media. We demand to know when Muslims will be given a place at the table,” Akintola said.

The intervention comes amid heightened debate following the October designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” by U.S. President Donald Trump over religious freedom violations. The development has reignited arguments over whether Christians are facing genocide, with the Christian Association of Nigeria insisting that such persecution exists.

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