In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

‎(Lagos, Friday, 14/11/2025) The Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC), Nigeria, calls on the National Assembly to urgently enact legislation that criminalizes the deliberate production, circulation, reliance upon, or promotion of unreliable, unverified, or fabricated materials used to lobby foreign governments against Nigeria. The growing pattern of citizens weaponizing misinformation to malign their own nation before foreign actors has become a grave national security concern, inflicting immeasurable reputational, diplomatic, economic, and social damage on Nigeria and Nigerians.

In recent years, various individuals and groups – driven by sectarian, political, or separatist agendas – have routinely exported disinformation to foreign governments and international institutions. Their activities have fed false narratives about Nigeria, undermined national cohesion, and misled global opinion.

One disturbing pattern is the partnership between elements within the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the terrorist organization Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), particularly in the promotion of unverified and sensational claims to foreign governments. IPOB has openly propagated fabrications about Nigeria, framing internal security challenges as “Christian genocide” despite the multi-dimensional and cross-religious nature of the violence. Certain elements within CAN have echoed and amplified these misleading claims, providing them with a veneer of legitimacy before foreign policymakers.

This alliance of convenience – CAN elements lending credibility, IPOB supplying propaganda, and both targeting foreign audiences – has directly contributed to Nigeria’s current diplomatic crisis with the United States regarding the false allegation of a state-sponsored Christian genocide. These claims have been repeatedly shown to rest on unreliable data, selective interpretation, and politically motivated distortions rather than objective evidence.

MPAC recalls two major cases that exemplify this dangerous pattern:

1. The UK All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Report of 2020

In 2020, the UK APPG on Freedom of Religion or Belief released a deeply flawed report alleging “genocide” against Christians in Nigeria. The document relied heavily on unverified submissions, politically motivated sources, and materials linked to groups with a track record of distorting Nigeria’s internal security challenges.
MPAC played an active and decisive role in exposing the inaccuracies, biases, and methodological weaknesses of the report. The intervention pressured the APPG to quietly retract its position and revise its narrative. That experience remains one of the clearest demonstrations of how unreliable information, once smuggled into foreign policy circles, can trigger harmful diplomatic consequences for Nigeria.

2. The Ongoing Misinformation Campaign that Escalated into the Current U.S.- Nigeria Tension

The present diplomatic tension with the United States traces directly to long-running misinformation pipelines involving IPOB and certain CAN factions. These actors have, for years, actively lobbied U.S. congressional offices, international NGOs, U.S. evangelical groups and hate theologians/televangelists dedicated to a mission to demonise Islam, and faith-based advocacy groups with fabricated casualty figures, exaggerated persecution narratives, and one-sided accounts of Nigeria’s complex security landscape. Their coordinated campaign has contributed to misguided legislative proposals, hostile policy briefings, and misinformed public opinion abroad – each one damaging Nigeria’s integrity and complicating diplomatic engagement.

A National Security Priority: Time for Legislation

MPAC holds the view that while Nigeria must always protect legitimate rights to free expression, advocacy, and criticism, the deliberate use of falsehood to sabotage one’s own country before foreign governments is an act that demands legal consequences.

The absence of deterrent legislation has emboldened individuals and groups to:

– Manufacture “reports” devoid of verifiable evidence

– Circulate fabricated casualty figures

– Present sectarian narratives as national realities

– Lobby foreign governments using disinformation

– Incite diplomatic sanctions and hostile foreign policies against Nigeria

– Damage Nigeria’s global standing and undermine its internal stability

Nigeria must decisively address this growing danger threatening Nigeria’s existence, peace and stability.

MPAC therefore urges the National Assembly to introduce and pass a “Bill on the Criminalization of Foreign-Oriented Disinformation Against the Nigerian State”, covering:

– Production of fabricated or unverified material aimed at influencing foreign governments against Nigeria

– Circulation of such material in any form

– Promotion or reliance upon unverified narratives in foreign lobbying

– Collaboration with groups designated as terrorist organizations

– Sanctions proportionate to the national harm caused

Such legislation would align Nigeria with global best practices. Many countries – including the United States, United Kingdom, France, China, South Korea, and others – criminalize foreign-directed disinformation, especially when it endangers national security or foreign relations. We urge all well-meaning Nigerians to recognize and join this call to the National Assembly as a national duty. The time has come for the National Assembly to act against sabotage and all campaigns capable of destroying Nigeria, including those collaborating with foreign actors. The time has come for the nation to treat foreign-targeted disinformation as a national security crime. Nigeria cannot continue to tolerate internal actors who undermine its global reputation, destabilize diplomatic relations, and misrepresent the lived realities of its citizens for sectarian or political gain. Nigeria must not be left defenceless against sabotage.

MPAC remains committed to defending truth, justice, peaceful coexistence and national unity. We will continue to monitor developments, challenge disinformation wherever it appears, and advocate for responsible engagement that protects Nigeria’s interests at home and abroad.

-The End-

Disu Kamor
Executive Chairman
Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC), Nigeria
disu.kamor@mpac-ng.org
www.mpac-ng.org

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