Christian youths flay Bwala over genocide denial

By Abubakar Yunusa

A coalition of Christian youth organisations has condemned the statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, following his meeting with the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Abuja.

The Coalition of Christian Youths — comprising the Odua Youths Democrats Congress, Middle Belt Youths Vanguard and Progressive Congress, Concerned Christian Youths Forum, and the South East Congress for National Development — accused Bwala of misrepresenting CAN’s position on the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

Bwala, after his visit to CAN’s national secretariat on Monday, was quoted as saying that Western media and United States lawmakers were “painting an inaccurate picture” of the situation in Nigeria, insisting that the nation’s security challenges were not religious in nature.

However, the Convener of the Concerned Christian Youths Forum, James Paul Adama, speaking at a world press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, described Bwala’s remarks as “treacherous and misleading.”

Adama said, “Daniel committed two abominable sins — first, by maliciously misrepresenting CAN’s position on the genocide against Christians, and second, by denying the targeted killings that have claimed tens of thousands of lives.”

He alleged that Christian communities across Benue, Plateau, and other northern states had suffered continuous attacks, with some villages renamed by aggressors in what he termed “a campaign of ethnic cleansing.”

“It is shameful that Bwala, who hails from Borno, the epicentre of Boko Haram’s brutality, would deny the extermination of his own people,” Adama added.

The coalition further accused Bwala of seeking “political relevance at all costs,” describing him as “a traitor to his own people and a disgrace to the Christian community.”

While calling for unity and truth in addressing the nation’s security challenges, the group urged political leaders to act with conscience and prioritise peace over personal ambition.

“We commend the security agencies for their sustained fight against terrorism,” Adama said. “But as a nation, we must all lend our voices to the truth if we hope to heal and move forward.”