Muslims Were Boko Haram’s First Victims in Nigeria, Says AU Chair

Mahmoud Youssouf, chairperson of the African Union (AU)Commission, says there are no targeted Christian killings in northern Nigeria. Speaking with reporters at the United Nations in New York,Youssouf said the complexity of the security situation in northern Nigeriacannot be described as Christian genocide. Youssouf said the first victims of Boko Haram insurgents inNigeria were Muslims and not Christians. “The first victims of Boko Haram are Muslims, notChristians. And I’m saying it with documented references,” he said. “The complexity of northern part of Nigeria should not betaken that easily. So what we are saying to those statements (Christiangenocide claims) is that the African continent is very complex. “It is not that easy to describe these situations with suchvery easy words that can be used in not reasonable way. “That is why the AU commission is very clear about that. Wehave made it clear in our statement and communique and we would like to stressagain that there is no genocide in northern Nigeria.” BACKGROUND Recently, claims of Christian genocide in Nigeria have beenpeddled on conventional and social media, especially by some high-profilepolitical personalities in the United States. Following the claims, some US lawmakers asked Marco Rubio,secretary of state, to immediately take decisive diplomatic action against theNigerian government over the “systematic persecution and slaughter ofChristians” in the country. Subsequently, US President Donald Trump labelled Nigeria a“country of particular concern (CPC)” over claims of Christian persecution inthe West African country. The US leader also warned the Nigerian government to “bettermove fast” or he would make good his threat to stop all US aid and assistanceto the country. He also threatened to unleash the department of war onNigeria to fight the terrorists “that attack our cherished Christians”. The Nigerian government has repeatedly rejected the claimsof Christian persecution. However, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) hasinsisted that Christian communities have repeatedly suffered brutal attacks.

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