2027 Poll: Christian Groups petition Trump, US Congress over Muslim-Muslim ticket, warn of “annihilation” risk

A coalition of human rights and Christian organisations under the Christian Youth Alliance of Nigeria (CYAN) has petitioned US President Donald Trump, the US Congress, and foreign diplomatic missions over the planned continuation of the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The group, drawn from the 36 states and the FCT, described the ticket as “the single gravest political threat to the safety of Christians in Nigeria” and urged the international community to investigate alleged foreign interference in what it called the “Christian genocide in Nigeria.”

—“Christians At The Brink Of Annihilation”—

A copy of the petition was released to journalists in Jos on Sunday. It was signed by CYAN Chairman Zariyi Yusuf Madaki, Secretary Nasiru Jagaba, and other leaders including Luka Binniyat, Steven Kefas, Jonathan-Ichaver, Apostle Michael Olowookere, and Emmanuel Zopmal.

Addressed to President Trump and copied to the US Secretary of State, members of the US Senate and House of Representatives, and heads of diplomatic missions in Nigeria, the coalition said Nigerian Christians face “annihilation” if the same-faith ticket is retained in 2027.

The group said it was renewing its call for sustained US attention to the deteriorating security situation for Christians.

“We commend the decision to re-designate Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), a step whose principal value so far has been to discredit propagandists who worked to portray murdered Christians as casualties of ordinary banditry, rather than what communities on the ground know them to be: targeted religious genocide,” the petition stated.

CYAN, however, noted that the CPC designation has not stopped the killings, citing the reported murder of at least 30 Christians in Naridon community, Kaduna State, last week.

*—“A Political Decision That Threatens To Entrench Genocide”—

The coalition linked the security crisis to politics, arguing that President Bola Tinubu’s decision to retain the Muslim-Muslim ticket for 2027 would further endanger Christians, especially in northern Nigeria.

“As we write today, a political decision unfolding in Abuja threatens to entrench and consolidate the Christian genocide in Nigeria. President Bola Tinubu’s retention of the Muslim-Muslim ticket in the upcoming 2027 election is, in our assessment, the single gravest political threat to the safety of Christians in Nigeria, particularly the northern region,” it said.

CYAN argued that the 2023 Tinubu-Shettima ticket broke a long-standing national convention of balancing the two highest offices across religious lines.

“This is not just a symbolic grievance, but a palpable one which transcends politics and has led to Christian exclusion in governance and in matters of faith. It has emboldened the jihadist armed groups that already operate with impunity in Christian-dominated communities,” the petition read.

The group cited a 2023 video of former Kaduna Governor Nasir el-Rufai, described as the architect of the ticket, in which he allegedly told Islamic clerics the arrangement “would endure and would silence the Christians in Nigeria.”

It also referenced former Minister Isa Pantami, accusing Nigeria’s political system of being “willing to elevate and tolerate” individuals who made extremist statements.

—Condemnation Of Terrorist Reintegration Policy—

CYAN condemned the Federal Government’s deradicalisation and reintegration programme for “repentant terrorists.”

“Under the current Muslim-Muslim presidency, taxes collected from persecuted Christians are budgeted for the rehabilitation and reintegration of jihadists, the so-called repentant terrorists, who are placed on government payrolls, while the internally displaced persons (predominantly Christians) are left in ruins,” the coalition said.

—Concerns Over Nigeria’s Lobbying In Washington—

The petition also raised concerns about Nigeria’s public relations efforts in the US following the CPC re-designation.

“We are also aware that the Nigerian government has retained international lobbying and public-relations firms since the CPC re-designation. In December 2025, a Kaduna law firm, Aster Legal, acting on behalf of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, retained the Washington public-affairs firm, DCI Group, under a contract reported at $9million, purposely to expressly communicate Nigeria’s protection of Christian communities to American audiences,” it stated.

“We do not object to Nigeria defending its record; we ask only that Congress and the State Department do not allow paid narrative management in Washington to substitute for verified improvements on the ground in Nigeria. The test of progress should be the safety of Christian communities, not the polish, however well-financed, of Abuja’s messaging to American audiences.”

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—Five Key Demands—

CYAN urged the US to take five actions:

1. Maintain CPC Status: Keep Nigeria on the CPC list and condition any removal on “independently verified protection of Christian communities, not on the diplomatic or lobbying activity of the Nigerian Government.”
2. Intervene On 2027 Ticket: Compel the Nigerian Government “publicly and privately” to reflect the country’s religious diversity in view of “the political and security risks of a same-faith presidential ticket.”
3. End Terrorist Reintegration: Completely abolish the reintegration policy and ensure terrorists “are prosecuted and face the full wrath of the law.”
4. Investigate And Aid Victims: Subject specific attacks, including “the Christmas 2023 attacks across Bokkos, Barkin Ladi and Mangu and the June 2025 Yelwata massacre in Benue State” to transparent, independent investigation and prosecution. It also called for direct humanitarian aid to displaced Christian communities in Southern Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, Taraba and other areas, “through channels that do not depend on the goodwill of the same state structures whose failures produced their displacement.”
5. Probe Foreign Interference: Investigate reports that “some Arab countries, particularly Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia, are meddling in Nigerian politics, by mounting pressure on the country to retain the Muslim-Muslim ticket in the forthcoming election in order to further subjugate Christians in Nigeria.”

● Rewritten story sourced from Daily Sun.