Media ignoring Muslims in ‘Christian genocide’ debate, says MURIC

File copy of the Executive Director of MURIC, Prof Ishaq Akintola

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The Muslim Rights Concern has accused the Nigerian media of sidelining Islamic scholars and Muslim voices in ongoing discussions about alleged Christian genocide in the country.

In a statement released on Saturday, MURIC Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said both print and electronic media have “excluded Islamic scholars in particular and Nigerian Muslims in general” from the national debate, which he described as one-sided and unprofessional.

He further asserted: “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?”

Akintola warned that the press, “except for very few, has drifted away from balance, fairness and professionalism,” insisting that Muslims are being unfairly portrayed without being given a right of reply.

In a recent article titled CHRISTIAN GENOCIDE: WHEN WILL THE PRESS HEAR FROM THE MUSLIMS? – MURIC, the group criticised media organisations over what it called biased platforming.

“We are constrained to call attention to the way and manner the ongoing debate on the imaginary Christian genocide is being handled by the Nigerian media. We note with grave concern how both the print and electronic media have excluded Islamic scholars in particular and Nigerian Muslims in general,” Akintola said.

According to him, Christian clerics are given “unlimited opportunities” across media platforms to make allegations, while Muslims accused in those narratives are not invited to respond.

He cited the 10 November interview with Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo on News Central TV, saying the station “has not deemed it fit to invite any Muslim scholar from the same area as the Christian cleric to respond to the allegations.”

He noted that Muslims from Dachomo’s community, under the Mangu Concerned Muslim Consultative Forum, have already countered the cleric’s claims, alleging that Christians in the North Central have conducted “systematic genocide” against Muslims for 25 years.

Akintola accused media houses of neglecting their responsibility to promote balance and reduce tensions. “Television and radio stations, including newspapers, must find a way of dousing cyber tension. Litigations may not leave out media houses found to have been negligent or corroborative in public incitement,” he said.

He lamented what he described as declining professionalism: “The public only hears one side of the story because it is those who allege alone that are invited. What of the Muslim side? Are there no Muslims in this country? Are there no Islamic scholars who can be invited to air their own views?”

MURIC argued that Muslims in the North West and North East, where terrorist attacks frequently occur, are also victims whose stories are underreported.

“At least the whole world knows that those being killed by the terrorists in Sokoto, Borno, Katsina, Zamfara, Kano, Kebbi, Yobe, etc, are Muslims,” the statement noted.

Accusing the media of “programming Nigerians to hate Muslims,” the group warned that biased reporting could lead to unrest.

“The Nigerian press is poisoning the minds of the general public… against Islam and its followers. This is very dangerous because we all know that incitement can lead to riots.”

MURIC called on regulatory bodies, including the National Broadcasting Commission, Nigerian Press Council, and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, to intervene and ensure fair coverage.

“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, adding that excluding Muslims from the debate renders it “not a national conversation.”

This follows developments from October 31, 2025, when U.S. President Donald Trump designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over religious freedom violations.

The designation has intensified public debate over rising attacks on Christians in the country and the question of whether a Christian genocide is underway.

The Christian Association of Nigeria has maintained that such a genocide exists, citing years of persecution, insecurity, and unspeakable tragedies affecting Christians nationwide.

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