Don’t Speak For Victims, We Need Help’ – Christians Reject Trump’s Claim Of Ending Killings In Nigeria.
The Christian Association of Nigeria in the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, alongside the Ecumenical Synods of Bishops, Archbishops, Apostles and Senior Clergy, has flatly rejected United States President Donald Trump’s assertion that American military intervention has ended the killing of Christians in Nigeria, describing the claim as dangerously misleading and detached from reality.
‘Only Victims Can Speak’
Trump had declared during a Washington event on Friday that recent US military action in Nigeria largely halted attacks on Christian communities and significantly weakened those responsible for the violence.
“As you know, we recently struck Nigeria and largely ended the slaughter of great Christian populations,” the US President told his audience.
But responding with palpable frustration, Chairman of CAN in the 19 northern states and the FCT, Rev. Joseph Hayab, insisted that only victims of insecurity—not the American president—could assess whether any meaningful improvement had occurred.
“The right people who should tell whether Trump has succeeded should be Nigerian Christians or Northern Christians, not Trump himself. But probably he is getting his information from the wrong source,” Hayab told Sunday PUNCH.
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“Trump should allow the victims to make that confession, not him. The victims are the right people who can tell whether whatever he has done has yielded any success.”
‘People Are Still Being Killed Every Day‘
While acknowledging that the United States had carried out operations against terrorist elements, Hayab maintained that the intervention had not stopped the daily bloodshed.
“The strategy Trump’s America is adopting is not good enough because after the US forces struck in Sokoto last December, they went on a long recess. They came recently again and killed some ISIS commanders, but people are still being killed here every day,” he stated.
The CAN chairman issued a direct appeal: “We want help, but the help shouldn’t be propaganda. It should be genuine help, not propaganda or misinformation.”
He challenged the White House narrative by pointing to ongoing abductions across multiple states.
“All those people who are still in bandits’ captivity in Oyo, Kwara and Kogi, what has happened? People are still in Kwara, Katsina, Borno and other states. Trump and his men can find a better story.”
Bishops Demand Evidence from Trump
In a separate reaction, the Ecumenical Synods of Bishops, Archbishops, Apostles and Senior Clergy said there was no convincing evidence that the reported US intervention had achieved the results Trump claimed.
International Secretary of the body, Archbishop Osazee William, did not mince words.
“I don’t seem to agree with him because, in the first place, I have yet to see evidence of that claim. I think there was a kind of warning strike in Sokoto, but I didn’t see any visible killing. This is not the kind of intervention we were hoping and looking forward to. We are looking at a good intervention,” he said.
William also expressed deep concern over reports of possible behind-the-scenes negotiations that may be shaping the US position on Nigeria’s security challenges.
While acknowledging that a symbolic message may have been sent through the reported operation, the bishops insisted it had not addressed the country’s escalating security crisis.
The Christian leaders jointly called for sustained, transparent collaboration between Nigerian authorities and international partners to tackle insecurity, protect vulnerable communities, and restore lasting peace—not score political points through “propaganda.”
