A US-based Nigerian lawyer and human rights activist has risen in defence of helpless Christians in the West African nation’s Middle Belt region who are consistently attacked by suspected Fulani media amid denials by government officials and lobbyists.
This criticism was made by Franc Fagah Utoo in a social media post titled “Standing Against the Darkness: Our Unyielding Struggle to Defend Nigeria’s Persecuted Christians.”
Utoo at the 2026 biggest gathering of the American Conservative movement. Credit: Franc Utoo
“Standing Against the Darkness.”
Concerning genocide claims, the native of Yelewata, in Benue State, where over 200 people were killed by the suspected Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) between the 13 and 14 June 2025, declared, “The truth remains unshakable.”
He further clarified the matter by suggesting that there is impunity and a lack of political will to address the killing of Christians.
“For too long, the enablers of this genocide operated unchallenged. Their comfort was shattered when we committed our courage, intellect, and conviction to resist their plot,” he said.
Utoo indicated that with what is now gaining traction globally, the massacre can no longer be hurriedly buried.
“Our collective voice pierced the silence that once surrounded Nigeria’s suffering. From the halls of the U.S. Congress to the White House, to the Israeli Knesset,—across parliaments in Canada, Europe and beyond—the plight of persecuted Christians in Nigeria could no longer be ignored,” he maintained.
The fundraising and Media Relations Associate of Equipping The Persecuted cautioned against propaganda by certain figures who are determined to falsify facts.
“They found voices among radical clerics like Sheikh Gumi to confuse the public and distort the truth, even sending him to Turkey for ‘strategic reorientation.’ In some of the States worst hit in Nigeria, like Benue, some complacent and compromised figures in Benue chose silence or denial instead of speaking for their own people who bleed daily in forgotten villages.
“And now, the propaganda machine has turned to David Hundeyin, an acclaimed investigative journalist who has long revealed sympathies for tyrannical jihadist forces like Ayatollah Khameini, and to a certain Russian TV reporter—men skilled at distortion but devoid of empathy,” he warned.
“Our organisation…have served as lifelines.”
The activist used the occasion to tell the world what the Non-Government Organisation Equipping The Persecuted is doing to challenge these denials.
“With reckless ease, they have sought to vilify our organization, EquippingThePersecuted, and our advocacy arm, TruthNigeria, which for years have served as lifelines—providing credible intelligence, aid, and warnings to communities under siege.
“We are accused of being agents of foreign destabilization, when indeed our only loyalty is to truth, justice, and the survival of innocent souls,” he stated.
He contended that “In retaliation, the architects of this bloody campaign began to fight back—not only through increased violence on the ground but also through propaganda in high places,” adding that “They enlisted allies both foreign and domestic.”
The Benue-born scholar argued that what is happening in the country this “is a spiritual and moral war cloaked in political intrigue,” but assured that, “We wrestle not merely against institutions and individuals, but against the unseen powers that drive evil and hatred. Yet, in the face of this darkness, our cause remains just and our faith unbroken.”
According to him, “History has shown that truth, though delayed, always prevails,” insisting that “God has never failed those who rise to defend the innocent, and He will not fail us now.”
Describing the worrying phenomenon of lobbying the US to downplay the persecution of Christians, Utoo claimed that “A Trump American adviser was used to downplay the reality of persecution. A representative within the African Union echoed these denials.”
“In Nigeria, government-connected interests contracted lobby groups in Washington to rewrite the narrative.”
Turning to the Nigerian government, he insisted that “In Nigeria, government-connected interests contracted lobby groups in Washington to rewrite the narrative.”
Citing scripture, “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbour,” (Leviticus 19:16), he assured, “We will prevail.”
He noted that they would not back down in defence of the innocent and in their agitation for a better country.
“The day we resolved to take a decisive stand against the genocide of Christians in Nigeria—to defend our people, our land, and our faith—was the very day we understood that we had risen against a vast, sophisticated, and well-funded machinery of evil designed to consume us all.
“We will stand firm. We will speak boldly. We will defend our people—until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” Utoo insisted.
Editor’s Note: Featured photo is courtesy of Franc Utoo.
