The Borno State Elders Forum has described as inconceivable and extremely cruel claims that there was a planned genocide against any faith in Borno or anywhere else in Nigeria.
In a statement signed on the 29th of October, 2025, by its Secretary/Spokesman, Dr Bulama Mali and made available to Blueprint in Abuja, the group cautioned anyone from abusing “Our sensibilities by claiming that there is a planned genocide against any faith.”
Mali noted that what Nigeria needed at this critical moment of security concerns is for all hands to be on deck to address the country’s challenges rather than playing to the gallery or feigning grandstanding k owi g full well that those claims are absolutely false.
It reads further: “Our concerns on the misdirected, malicious and delibrate claim of a genocide in Borno at a time when we need the support, cooperation and collaboration of every group and individual, and at a time we are still deeply mourning the mass killings and displacement of our loved ones, some individual and nations, groups are playing mockery of our distressed situation.
“People are dishing out u substantiated statistics if death tolls and destruction without recourse to actual facts available.
“If for any parameter of judgment one can claim genocide, it should be the people of Borno and the northeast in general.
“Since 2009, more than half a million people were Killed and more than two million others were completely displaced.
“Over ninety per cent of those killed or displaced are Muslims.
“Yet, we never considered that as a genocide because we understand it is not.
“The Bomo Haram assault is imposed upon our society by agents of destruction.
“They kill people of all religions. Muslims, Christians, and even Animists were victims.
“For anyone to hide in comfort zones to cast aspersions to deliberately create disunity and upheaval is most dastardly and will never be condoned or supported.
“In Borno, we co-exist as brithers and sustera bonded by same cultural and traditional ancenstry.
“We will never allow any hidden agenda to overcome our brotherhood.
“We will remain one and ever focused on regaining our peaceful co-habitation.”
