The United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa has approved potential sanctions on Nigeria, urging former President Donald Trump to take decisive action in response to the alarming persecution of Christians in the country.
The decision followed a congressional hearing on Wednesday, March 12, where lawmakers strongly criticized the Nigerian government for failing to protect Christian communities from escalating violence.
The discussion centered on findings from a 2024 report by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, which revealed that Nigeria accounted for 90% of all Christian killings worldwide annually.
According to the report, between October 2019 and September 2023, approximately 55,910 people were killed, while 21,000 others were abducted by terrorist groups.
The congressional panel, therefore, condemned the Nigerian government for allowing such atrocities to persist unchecked.
During the hearing, Committee Chairman Chris Smith expressed deep concern over the situation, highlighting the testimony of Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Diocese of Makurdi, Nigeria.
He described the bishop’s account as “both compelling and disturbing,” pointing directly at militant Fulani herdsmen as perpetrators of these attacks.
“Militant Fulani herdsmen are terrorists. They steal and vandalize, they kill and boast about it, they kidnap and rape, and they enjoy total impunity from elected officials.
None of them have been arrested or brought to justice,” Smith stated.
Furthermore, the report noted that these attacks are religiously motivated and should not be downplayed.
“Make no mistake – these attacks are religiously motivated,” the document affirmed, adding,
“Denying this reality contradicts the overwhelming evidence we have seen with our own eyes.
This ‘religious cleansing’ must stop, and those responsible must be held accountable.”
The congressional panel strongly criticized the Nigerian government for its failure to address religiously motivated violence despite constitutional protections for religious freedom.
Lawmakers raised concerns that Nigeria’s judicial system had been weaponized to suppress Christian communities.
Additionally, they cited instances where blasphemy laws had been used to target religious minorities, reinforcing the argument that religious persecution remains a pressing issue.
“The Government of Nigeria has made little progress in addressing the persecution of Christians, even though religious freedom is enshrined as a fundamental human right in its Constitution,” the report emphasized.
It further pointed out that “while Nigeria’s legal framework ostensibly supports religious pluralism at both federal and state levels, glaring contradictions persist—particularly in laws that criminalize blasphemy, some of which even carry the death penalty.”
Blaming the previous administration of President Joe Biden for weakening U.S. pressure on Nigeria, Smith accused Biden of removing the country from the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list.
“Under President Biden, Nigeria was removed from the CPC list, despite overwhelming evidence that religious persecution had worsened.
This decision ignored the repeated recommendations of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom,” he said.
Smith, therefore, called on Trump to take decisive action by restoring Nigeria’s CPC designation and engaging directly with President Bola Tinubu to ensure better protection for Christian communities.
“I fully expect President Trump to redesignate Nigeria as a CPC and to take additional steps to support the persecuted church.
Last night, I reintroduced a resolution on this issue, and I hope we will have a robust discussion that leads to real action,” he added.
As the international spotlight intensifies on Nigeria’s handling of religious violence, the call for U.S. intervention continues to gain momentum.
With the matter now being addressed at a high level, pressure is mounting for the Nigerian government to take decisive steps in protecting religious minorities and upholding justice.
