No Christian Genocide in Nigeria: Reno Omokri Tells Radio Genoa and Bill Maher

Former presidential aide and author, Reno Omokri, has debunked recent claims suggesting that hundreds of thousands of Christians were massacred in Nigeria by Muslims, describing such assertions as false, misleading, and damaging to the country’s image.

Omokri was reacting to a viral video circulated on X (formerly Twitter) by an account linked to Radio Genoa, a known anti-Islamic influencer. The video featured a man with a Nigerian accent alleging that “over 500,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria last year alone.”

According to Omokri, the claim is “preposterous” and amounts to economic sabotage because it discourages potential investors who might believe Nigeria condones mass killings.

He called on authorities to trace the man behind the video and compel him to provide evidence or face prosecution.

He also faulted American comedian and political talk show host, Bill Maher, for repeating similar claims on his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher. Maher alleged that Christians were being systematically wiped out in Nigeria, with over 100,000 killed, and described the situation as “genocide.”

Omokri stressed that both Maher’s claims and those of Radio Genoa are contradicted by verified global data. Citing the Institute for Economics and Peace’s 2024 Global Terrorism Index, he noted that 8,352 people died from terrorism and insecurity worldwide in 2023, while the United Nations put civilian conflict deaths at 36,000. “It is impossible,” he said, “for half a million Christians to have been killed in Nigeria in one year.”

While acknowledging Nigeria’s ongoing security challenges — including banditry, farmer-herder clashes, and a dwindling insurgency in the Northeast — Omokri emphasized that Muslims have often suffered more casualties than Christians. He referenced data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), which shows that between 2010 and 2023, 13,485 deaths occurred in Nigeria’s Northwest, the heartland of Islam in the country.

Omokri, who described himself as a devout Orthodox Christian, admitted that Christians faced severe persecution under former President Muhammadu Buhari but maintained that at no time did Nigeria witness a genocide. “Things were bad for the Body of Christ, but nowhere near as bad as alleged,” he said.

He further explained that terror groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP had targeted Christians in the past to spark a religious war, but later shifted focus to killing Muslims when their plan failed. He cited the arrests and prosecutions of notorious figures like Kabiru Sokoto, mastermind of the 2011 Christmas Day bombing in Madalla, and suspects behind the 2022 Owo church attack, as proof that the Nigerian state has acted against perpetrators.

Omokri also listed several notorious bandit leaders neutralised under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, including Kachalla Ali Kawaje, Kachalla Halilu Sububu, and Kachalla Dangote, stressing that these criminals were responsible for more Muslim than Christian deaths.

“The propaganda about genocide in Nigeria is a figment of the imagination of mischievous or misinformed persons,” Omokri concluded. “If such a thing were happening, I would be the first to spend my last dime fighting for the rights of Christians, Muslims, or traditional worshippers.”