Former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has reacted to Buhari's claim that 90 percent v*ctims of Boko Haram attacks are Muslims. He wonders why such careless statements are made by people who should know better, and who continue to call for a peaceful coexistence in the country.
He said, “We may not, yet, be completely winning the battle for the truth. Christianity in Nigeria is not-as some seem intent on believing-contracting under pressure, but expanding and growing in numbers approaching half of our population today. Nor is it the case that Boko Haram is primarily targeting Christians: not all of the Chibok schoolgirls were Christians; some were Muslims, and were so at the point at which they were taken by the te**orists.
In his own reaction to the report via his Facebook page, Atiku said," We must not rationalise kiIIıngs. Whether Christian, Muslim, Traditionalist, or Atheist, the kiIIıng of any human being, by Boko Haram, or any other misguided group, is wrong and should be condemned unequivocally. There is no compulsion in religion. Only love."
There has been growing concerns over reports of Christian persecution in the country with the United States adding Nigeria in a Special Watch List of countries suppressing religious freedoms.