The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) today condemned the allegations made by Islamic cleric Sheik Ahmad Gumi that Christians in the Middle Belt were arranging funerals to fake genocide.
The PFN branded Gumi’s remarks as not only disrespectful and irresponsible, but also morally repulsive, according to Saturday Vanguard.
Gumi claimed that Christians in the Middle Belt were burying empty coffins to create a story of genocide.
However, the Christian body, in a statement headlined ‘Rebuttal of Ahmad Gumi’s false and dangerous claim’ by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr Sylvanus Ukafia, stated that Gumi’s claim was unsubstantiated, provocative, and collapsed under the slightest inspection.
The statement reads: “We strongly condemn Ahmad Gumi’s recent statement stating that Christians in the Middle Belt are “burying empty coffins” to create a narrative of genocide.
“This allegation is false, provocative, and easily refuted.
“It is not customary to bury empty coffins in Nigerian cultures, whether Christian, Muslim, or traditional.
“Funerals are social, identity-based ceremonies based on genuine names, families, and histories. The concept that entire communities are orchestrating false burials with no whistleblowers or inconsistencies is not only ridiculous, but also highly offensive.
“Gumi’s complaint is completely based on an anonymous ‘doctor’ who lacks any verifiable facts, such a name, location, documentation, images, and timestamps. This is hearsay presented as fact.
“If such mass staging really happened, who excavated the graves? Who carried the coffins? Who filmed the events? Why has no participant, villager, or bystander stepped forward?
“Public burials cannot be forged without many witnesses. Gumi offers no proof.
“His claim also contradicts itself: Nigeria has seen thousands of genuine victims of terrorism and banditry.” There is no reason for anyone to “invent” casualties.
“The catastrophe has already been thoroughly recorded by humanitarian organizations, international observers, satellite photographs, and media reports.
“This statement follows a troubling trend in which Gumi consistently downplays or denies targeted killings of Christians, and now strives to delegitimise genuine suffering with a hazardous narrative timed to offset mounting global concern, including condemnations from US senators.
“This isn’t analysis. This is propaganda.
“Such misinformation trivializes actual tragedy, exacerbates divisiveness, and diverts attention away from ongoing violence. To claim that grieving communities are staging funerals is callous, reckless, and morally repugnant.
“We call for restraint, truthfulness, and compassion in public commentary, especially on matters involving human lives and national security.”
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