Human rights activist and legal practitioner, Chief Malcolm Omirhobo, has warned that Nigeria was facing a coordinated existential threat against its indigenous peoples and natural resources, insisting that reducing the crisis to a religious conflict was “dangerously irresponsible.”

In a statement, yesterday, Omirhobo described the ongoing violence across several regions of the country as a “systemic and internalised genocide” affecting both Christians and Muslims, perpetrated largely by armed militias from within and outside Nigeria’s borders, particularly the Sahel.

According to him, the widespread killings, displacement, occupation of ancestral lands, and destruction of livelihoods reflect a deeper assault on indigenous communities and their resources, rather than sectarian strife.

He said: “There is no doubt that Nigeria is confronted with a grave humanitarian tragedy, a coordinated assault on indigenous peoples, both Christians and Muslims alike. This is not only about killings and displacement,  it extends to illegal occupation of lands and looting of the country’s resources, including minerals, farmlands, forests, oil and other national assets.”

He faulted recent comments attributed to the United States suggesting that attacks in Nigeria were driven primarily by religious persecution, saying such claims distort facts and could inflame tensions among Nigerians.

“To narrowly frame this tragedy as simply ‘Muslims killing Christians,’ as recently suggested by the United States, ignores the complex realities of terrorism, ethnic cleansing, economic exploitation, environmental devastation, and state failure. Such a narrative risks igniting a catastrophic religious war.”

Omirhobo alleged that criminal networks involved in illegal mining and resource exploitation operate across porous borders with minimal resistance from the government, adding that both Christian and Muslim communities were victims of a broader scheme of dispossession.