Odita Sunday 
Christian Genocide: HURIWA Slams Tinubu Aide Daniel Bwala, Says His Claims Are Inconsistent, Dangerous
Prominent pro-democracy and civil rights organisation, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has launched a scathing attack on the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Mr Daniel Bwala, describing him as “double-faced, inconsistent and unreliable,” whose words, it said, carry no credibility.
HURIWA dismissed Bwala’s recent comments questioning the origin and validity of reports on the genocide of Christians in Nigeria, describing them as “nonsensical, illogical and politically motivated.”
In a media statement endorsed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, the group accused the presidential aide of speaking “from both sides of his mouth,” insisting that his shifting positions over time exposed a lack of principle and integrity.
The rights group further challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to publicly clarify whether he authorised Bwala’s claim that reports of the genocide of Christians by Islamic terrorists were allegedly fabricated by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
HURIWA expressed outrage that such a sensitive national and international issue was being politicised in what it described as a “toxic and dangerous attempt” to divert attention from documented atrocities.
The group recalled that Bwala, who previously served as a media aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, had made contradictory statements in the past, including harsh criticisms of President Tinubu before crossing over to the ruling camp.
HURIWA also faulted a recent New York Times report which accused an Onitsha-based rights activist, Emeka Umeagbalasi, of originating the genocide narrative, describing the report as “tales by moonlight” and a distortion of verifiable facts.
According to HURIWA, the killings of Christians across parts of Nigeria are well-documented realities, involving church attacks, mass abductions, destruction of places of worship and the killing of clerics by Islamic extremists.
The group cited multiple reports by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, which have repeatedly warned of targeted violence against Christian communities in several northern states.
HURIWA also criticised the Federal Government’s alleged decision to spend millions of dollars lobbying foreign interests to downplay the killings, describing the move as provocative and insensitive.
The organisation listed data showing that between 2015 and 2025, over 212 Catholic priests were kidnapped, with several murdered, according to reports shared with the international foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
HURIWA concluded that attempts to shift blame to IPOB or the Igbo ethnic group amounted to “dangerous scapegoating,” warning that denial of documented atrocities undermines national cohesion and justice.
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