Release International

Nigerian Christians are furious that their government appears to have signed up in secret to become a member of the Organisation of The Islamic Conference (OIC).

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) was dismayed that it had not been consulted over the decision – and learnt the news though a daily newspaper.

CAN Secretary General Saidu Dogo accused President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua of trying to keep a decision of huge national importance 'shrouded in secrecy'. And he reacted angrily to his organisation's being kept in the dark. 'As far as we are concerned, Nigeria is not a member of this organisation because nobody has come out to explain things to us,' he told Nigeria's Daily Champion newspaper.

The OIC is the second largest inter-governmental organisation after the UN and describes itself as 'the collective voice of the Muslim world'. CAN insists that Nigeria's population is divided equally between Christians and Muslims and so should not be a member of an organisation for mainly Muslim states.

Now Saidu Dogo has thrown down the gauntlet: 'We insist that the country should also become a member of the World Council of Churches (…) then we know that justice and fair play is being done.'

This controversy has raged since 1986 when the then president General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida tried to have Nigeria admitted to OIC membership.

Saidu Dogo suspects the deal may have been done when President Yar'Adua attended an OIC conference in Senegal recently. But some suspect the deal may well have been done some while before. Nigeria is clearly listed as a member on the OIC website – and its membership is listed as dating from 1986.

• Pray that Nigeria's national government would now make a public commitment to protecting the religious rights of non-Muslims and Muslims.
• Pray for Nigeria's Muslim president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. Pray that he will be even-handed in his dealings with Christians and Muslims.

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