A coalition of Christian organisations and rights advocates across Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT has petitioned the US President, Donald Trump, the US Congress, and foreign missions in Abuja, warning that retaining a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket for 2027 could worsen insecurity for Christians nationwide.
- +Coalition says same-faith ticket threat to Christians, urges US intervention
The petition, submitted by the Christian Youth Alliance of Nigeria, CYAN, at the US Embassy in Abuja was made available to journalists in Jos on Sunday.
The petition, submitted by the Christian Youth Alliance of Nigeria, CYAN, at the US Embassy in Abuja was made available to journalists in Jos on Sunday.
It was signed by Zariyi Madaki, Chairman; Nasiru Jagaba, Secretary; and other members, including Luka Binniyat, Steven Kefas, Ier Jonathan-Ichaver, Apostle Michael Olowookere, and Emmanuel Zopmal.
The petition which was addressed to Trump and copied to the US Secretary of State, members of both chambers of Congress, and heads of diplomatic missions, implored Washington to keep pressure on Nigeria over what it called “the deteriorating security of Christians.”
The petition which read in parts stated, “We commend the decision to redesignate Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern, CP.
“Its principal value so far has been to discredit propagandists who portrayed murdered Christians as casualties of ordinary banditry, rather than what communities on the ground know them to be: targeted religious genocide.”
CYAN, however noted that the CPC tag “has not stopped the killing,” pointing to the reported killing of “at least 30 Christians in Naridon community in Kaduna State this week.”
The coalition insisted that a political development in Abuja could deepen the crisis, stressing,
“President Bola Tinubu’s retention of the Muslim-Muslim ticket in the upcoming 2027 election is, in our assessment, the single gravest political threat to the safety of Christians in Nigeria, particularly in the northern region,” it wrote.
According to the group, the Tinubu-Shettima ticket in 2023 “broke a long-standing convention” of balancing the presidency and vice presidency across religious lines.
“This is not just a symbolic grievance, but a palpable one… It has emboldened jihadist and armed groups that already operate with impunity in Christian-dominated communities,” the petition added.
CYAN, while making reference to a 2023 video clip of former Kaduna Governor Nasir el-Rufai, which it described as “the architect of the Muslim-Muslim ticket,” recalled the ex-Kaduna State governor as allegedly telling Islamic clerics the arrangement would “silence Christians in Nigeria.”
The petition also faulted the federal government’s reintegration of “repentant terrorists,” emphasising that,
“Under the current Muslim-Muslim Presidency, taxes collected from persecuted Christians are budgeted for the rehabilitation and reintegration of jihadists… while Internally Displaced Persons, predominantly Christians, are left in ruins,” it pointed out.
On diplomacy, the group raised concerns about Nigeria’s high scale lobbying in Washington. It referenced a December 2025 FARA filing showing, whereby Kaduna-based Aster Legal, acting for NSA Nuhu Ribadu, hired DCI Group for $9 million “to expressly communicate Nigeria’s protection of Christian communities to American audiences.”
On this, it remarked, “We do not object to Nigeria defending its record; we ask only that Congress and the State Department do not allow paid narrative management in Washington to substitute for verified improvements on the ground,” CYAN stated.
The group further demanded that the US government maintain Nigeria’s status on the Country of Particular Concern list and base any review on independent verification, instead of lobbying.
It equally urged the US government to compel the Nigerian leadership to reflect religious diversity on the presidential ticket, while exacting the will to prosecute militants instead of rehabilitating them.
Not done yet, the petition called for transparent investigations into the Christmas 2023 attacks in Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and Mangu, Plateau, and the June 2025 Yelwata massacre in Benue; and ensure that humanitarian support reaches displaced Christian communities in Southern Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, Taraba and others through channels independent of state institutions as well as investigate reports that Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia are pressuring Nigeria to retain the same-faith ticket.
The coalition maintained that the test of progress “should be the safety of Christian communities, not the polish, however well-financed, of Abuja’s messaging to American audiences.”
