IRRESPONSIBLE…INSENSITIVE: PFN fumes over Gumi’s claim that Middle Belt Christians are ‘staging funerals’

*Says burying of empty coffins unheard of across Nigerian cultures

   *No Christian genocide in Nigeria, AGF maintains

BY ORIAKU IJELE

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria is visibly angry, over claims by Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi which suggest that Christians in the Middle Belt region of the country, who are the most hit in terms of fatalities from Islamic extremists’ attacks are ‘acting’ attract pity and escalate the situation on the ground.

Gumi had insinuated that Christians in the Middle Belt were staging funerals and burying empty coffins!

But PFN has condemned this in very strong terms.

In a strongly worded statement, PFN’s National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Sylvanus Ukafia called Gumi’s remarks “baseless, inflammatory, and utterly illogical,” accusing the cleric of spreading propaganda that mocks genuine suffering and sows division amid escalating violence.

He wrote: “Across all Nigerian cultures, Christian, Muslim, and traditional, burying empty coffins is unheard of. Funerals are sacred, community-driven rituals tied to real people, families, and histories. The notion that entire villages would orchestrate mass fake burials without a single leak or contradiction is not just absurd it’s a profound insult to the bereaved.

“There’s no need to ‘invent’ victims when the real ones are piling up”.

The statement also took aim at the timing of Gumi’s outburst, framing it as part of a broader pattern where the cleric has repeatedly minimized targeted attacks on Christians.

“To imply that mourning families are actors in some grand hoax is insensitive, irresponsible, and morally bankrupt,” Ukafia continued.

“If these burials were faked on such a scale, who shoveled the graves? Who shouldered the coffins? Who captured the footage? Not one witness has ever stepped forward, because it’s a fabrication without a shred of evidence.”

Ukafia implored public figures to prioritise truth, empathy, and national unity over divisive rhetoric, especially on matters of life, death, and security.

The PFN’s response comes amid heightened international scrutiny of Nigeria’s security woes.

President Donald Trump’s recent declarations, in which he accused jihadist groups of slaughtering Christians en masse in Nigeria, while urging President Bola Tinubu’s administration to curb the violence or face U.S. intervention.

In a related development, Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, has insisted that the Federal Government was intensifying efforts to curb criminality nationwide.

He however dismissed claims suggesting that Christians are being systematically targeted or killed in Nigeria.

Fagbemi said this on Saturday at an event held in Erin-Ile, Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State, maintaining that no religious group was under persecution in the country.

According to him, violent attacks were not limited to any particular group or faith, stressing that states such as Zamfara and Sokoto, predominantly Muslim areas, have suffered repeated incidents of killings and banditry.

“There is no Christian genocide in Nigeria. There is no persecution of any religion, sect or ethnic nationality. Killings are happening in Zamfara, Sokoto and other Muslim-dominated areas. That is not to say the situation is okay, but it shows clearly that violence is not targeted at any religion. We should reject any insinuation that there is a Christian genocide in the country. The government is taking all necessary steps to ensure that killings and banditry are nipped in the bud”.