SUNTV Global Channel Reporting
ABUJA, Nigeria — Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Paul Enenche, has called for a religious census to determine the actual number of Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, following claims that Muslims constitute the majority of the country’s population.
Enenche made the call during a church service on Sunday while reacting to comments attributed to Islamic cleric Sani Yahaya Jingir, who had urged Muslims to use their voting strength to support Muslim candidates and sustain a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Jingir had reportedly claimed that Muslims outnumber Christians in Nigeria.
Rejecting the assertion, Enenche argued that the only credible way to establish the religious composition of the country is through a properly conducted census in which citizens are allowed to state their religious affiliation.
“If you think you’re superior, why didn’t you people allow census all this while? And if you want to settle the scores, do a census, let everybody tell you what they believe in, then you will be shocked,” Enenche said.
The cleric also rejected any suggestion that Christianity is a secondary religion in Nigeria, stressing that Christians are present across different parts of the country.
“Christianity is not secondary, and no group of religious fanatics will ever make it secondary,” he said.
Enenche further criticised security agencies for what he described as their failure to adequately respond to statements capable of heightening religious tensions and triggering violence.
He called on the authorities to take inflammatory public statements seriously, particularly as political activities ahead of the 2027 elections intensify.
Nigeria has not had a recent official census that provides a definitive nationwide breakdown of the population by religious affiliation. Consequently, competing claims about whether Christians or Muslims constitute the larger religious population remain difficult to conclusively verify.
A transparent and credible census, Enenche argued, could provide authoritative demographic data and help settle the ongoing debate.
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