…Says anyone denying it may be an accomplice
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
The Igbo Women Assembly (IWA) has declared support for former U.S. President Donald Trump over his recent comment designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for alleged genocide against Christians.
The group said Trump’s position vindicated the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who had long spoken against what he described as “genocidal killings by jihadists masquerading as herdsmen.”
In a statement signed by its President, Lolo Nneka Chimezie, IWA said anyone denying the existence of Christian genocide in Nigeria “must be an accomplice.”
The group urged Trump to prevail on the Nigerian Government to release Kanu, saying he “did nothing to deserve his ordeals.”
“We appreciate President Donald Trump for drawing global attention to the killings of Christians and indigenous Nigerians. Anyone denying these genocidal killings is complicit,” the statement read.
“Before now, the government maintained criminal silence over these atrocities until Trump’s threat jolted them into reaction.”
IWA condemned what it described as a “conspiracy of silence” by both the Nigerian authorities and global media over attacks on Christian communities across the country.
“These atrocities were downplayed and dismissed as herder-farmer clashes. It’s shameful that it takes an American president’s tweet for our government to talk about the senseless killings of its own citizens,” the group added.
According to IWA, the evidence of genocidal killings is “overwhelming,” insisting that the scale of destruction against Christian communities “is unprecedented.”
The women’s group also accused the Federal Government of complicity, wondering why it would oppose Trump’s warning against the same terrorists it once described as “foreign criminal herders.”
“If the government admits these killers are foreigners, why should it panic when another foreign power moves to confront them? Any individual or group opposing U.S. action against terrorists should be investigated.”
IWA further faulted claims that America’s interest in Nigeria was driven by oil, arguing that such insinuations were “baseless.”
“Even Dangote refinery imports crude from the U.S. What has our oil done for ordinary Nigerians? If the U.S. helps end terrorism and benefits from oil, so be it — at least we’ll be alive to talk about it.”
The group also accused the Nigerian Government of hypocrisy for showing sympathy to Palestinians while ignoring atrocities against Christians at home.
“Is it because both the President and his Vice are Muslims that they won’t speak up for persecuted Christians?” IWA queried.
They also berated some Christian leaders for their silence, recalling how many of them “led protests against former President Goodluck Jonathan but are now hiding under prayers.”
“Our brothers from the South-West are choosing tribalism over truth. While Trump stands up for Christians, some of them rush to defend President Tinubu. What’s that, if not hypocrisy?” IWA concluded.
