• Terrorists not operating in favour of any religion, says Christian Pilgrims Commission
• 74 corps members escape terrorists’ abduction in Borno
• PFN wants Trump to work with Tinubu to stop Christian genocide

As the debate rages across the divide over claims of genocide in the country, former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has challenged Nigerian editors to critically examine the deeper causes behind Nigeria’s declining global image, urging them to confront the uncomfortable truths that have earned the country the label of “a disgraced nation.”

Speaking at the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) Conference in Abuja on Thursday, on the theme: ‘Reclaiming Our Nation’s Dignity: A Call to Conscience,’ Obi described editors as the “custodians of national conscience” and implored them to look beyond semantics and politics to the moral and systemic failures undermining the country.

He referenced a recent remark by U.S. President Donald Trump, who described Nigeria as “a now disgraced country,” linking the statement to the wave of insecurity and mass killings that have plagued the nation for years.

“Our disgrace as a nation does not arise from what others say about us,” Obi said. “It comes from what we have allowed—killings, impunity, corruption, hunger, and the neglect of our people. Today, more than 130 million Nigerians live in poverty, and over 20 million children are out of school. These are realities that should trouble our conscience.

“If someone calls us a disgraced country, we must ask whether there are issues within our society that justify that description,” Obi said. “Our focus should not only be on whether the killings in our country qualify as genocide, but on why such killings persist in the first place.”

The former Anambra State governor, who acknowledged the media’s pivotal role in his own political journey, said journalists must now redirect public attention toward rebuilding values that can inspire younger generations.

He criticised what he called executive recklessness, comparing it to “a situation where one feasts while asking others to fast.” While agreeing that policy decisions such as subsidy removal and currency unification could be beneficial in principle, Obi faulted their implementation, saying they were executed without empathy or accountability. “Borrowing is not a sin; every nation borrows. The question is: are we borrowing to feast?” he queried.

THE head of the African Union Commission has rejected claims by President Trump that Christians are being killed in a genocide in northern Nigeria, telling a United Nations forum in New York that such characterisations distort a far more complex security crisis.

Speaking alongside UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on Thursday, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf insisted that the African Union had already clarified its position and urged caution in the language used to describe conflicts unfolding across the continent.

“There is no genocide in northern Nigeria,” Youssouf said. “We have issued a communiqué making clear that what’s going on in the northern part of Nigeria has nothing to do with the kind of atrocities we see in Sudan or in some part of eastern DRC.”

He added that extremist violence in Nigeria’s north, largely driven by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has affected both Muslims and Christians.

“I think the complexity of the situation in northern Nigeria should push us to think twice before declaring or making such statements,” Youssouf said. “The first victims of Boko Haram are Muslims, not Christians, the first victims, and I’m saying it with documented references.”

Youssouf said the African Union was concerned that simplified narratives could misrepresent the underlying drivers of violence, which include terrorism, displacement, and local competition over land and resources.

The AU chief’s remarks come amid growing international debate following Trump’s comments this month alleging religiously motivated killings in northern Nigeria and warning that the U.S. could consider “military options” to protect Christian minorities. Trump’s remarks sparked widespread debate after he said “very large numbers” of Christians were being slaughtered in Nigeria.

THIS is as 74 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members escaped abduction by Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists along the Buratai–Kamuya road in Borno State.

They escaped abduction through the swift intervention of troops of Operation Hadin Kai, a joint military operation against Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the North-East. The corps members comprised 36 males and 38 females.

Explaining the situation, spokesperson of Operation Hadin Kai, Lt Col. Sani Uba, said the possible abduction of the corps members was foiled at about 9:05 p.m. on Tuesday after their vehicles broke down near a known kidnapping hotspot.

According to Uba, a military patrol team was “swiftly” deployed to the scene after a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system, monitored by troops, detected suspicious movement involving three buses at the location. “On arrival, troops discovered 74 NYSC members stranded after their vehicles developed mechanical faults.

“The troops immediately rescued them to prevent a likely abduction attempt by Boko Haram or ISWAP elements operating in the area,” Uba said. He said the rescued NYSC members are currently being accommodated at the Buratai military base, pending further arrangements for their safe movement.

THE executive secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Stephen Adegbite, says the perpetrators of insurgency and its violent crimes in Nigeria do not operate in favour of any of the major religions. Adegbite, who condemned the inglorious acts, disclosed this in an interview with journalists on Thursday in Lagos.

The NCPC boss described the perpetrators as beasts of no nation and criminals, saying that they should be treated as criminals to foster sanity in society. According to him, the perpetrators of kidnapping, banditry, and other violent crimes in Nigeria are not members of the two major religions in the country.

“They can’t be members of Islam or Christians, for both faiths are bearing the consequences of the nefarious acts and, by extension, society. Every effort to eradicate them from the land should be supported by the government to ensure that they are completely wiped out. As a body of Christ, we will continue to pray for the leadership of the country and the operatives to ensure those challenges become things of the past,” he assured.

He described the success recorded by the Nigerian troops in the last few days against the terrorists as divine intervention. Adegbite lauded the renewed zeal in the troops to halt onslaughts on communities and neutralise latent crimes as the way forward. He praised the newly commissioned service chiefs for their patriotic zeal, urging Nigerians to support them with useful information to nab those involved in violent crimes.

SIMILARLY, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has urged President Trump to work with his Nigerian counterpart, Bola Tinubu, on addressing insecurity in the country rather than threatening the West African nation with military action. PFN’s president, Wale Oke, stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast show The Morning Brief.

“Whatever needs to be done should be done to stop the killings. The life of every Nigerian is precious, and the targeted attacks against the church should stop. If the President (Tinubu) wants to ask for counter-terrorism training, or wherever they know that America has expertise, let them ask for it,” the cleric said on Thursday’s edition of the show.

“For us, we do not want an American invasion of Nigeria. We want Donald Trump to work with our President and to hold our President accountable to stop the targeted killing and kidnapping of our members. That is what we want.”

Weighing in on the matter, the PFN told the Nigerian government to end the killings in several parts of the country. “We don’t want revenge, like I said. But we want an end to killings,” the founder and presiding bishop of the Sword of the Spirit Ministries International.

“We want every Nigerian, whether Muslims or Christians, to be able to live freely, work freely, and practice their religion freely anywhere in Nigeria.”

But speaking shortly after at an emergency executive meeting of the Fellowship held on Thursday at its national headquarters in Lagos, Oke said the body would no longer remain silent while Christians are “targeted, killed, raped, and displaced” across the country, insisting that there’s an ongoing “Christian genocide” in the country, accusing the government of indifference and complicity in the face of persistent attacks on Christian communities.

“Let us call a spade a spade. There is Christian genocide ongoing in Nigeria,” Bishop Oke declared. “Even while we speak, killings are still taking place in Borno, Plateau, and Benue States. When Christians were massacred in Dogon Noma in Plateau State, what do we call that? When Christmas Day turned into a bloody day in Benue, with hundreds massacred, what name should we give it?”

He noted that the PFN had consistently drawn attention to the killings and abductions but lamented that the government had failed to act decisively to end them. Oke added that the church’s warnings had been ignored for over 15 years, only gaining renewed attention after the U.S. President, Donald Trump, publicly spoke about the issue.

“We have been crying for years, presenting data and evidence, but our cries were not taken seriously. Now that Donald Trump has spoken, we are joining our voices with his to appeal to the international community to help stop this evil. The blood of the saints is crying out,” he said.

The PFN President likened the situation in Nigeria to apartheid-era South Africa, warning that denial or silence could push the country into deeper chaos. “If South Africa had not acknowledged apartheid, it would still be in bondage today. Nigeria must confront the truth – these are Christian-targeted killings, kidnappings, and the forceful takeover of ancestral lands,” he said.