The U.S. House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Subcommittee has provided President Donald Trump with a green light to impose strict sanctions on Nigeria in response to the widespread Christianity nationwide! lling.
The decision follows a Congressional hearing on Wednesday, March 12. During this period, lawmakers condemned the Nigerian government’s failure to protect Christian communities from escalating violence.
The committee also cites the 2024 report from the African Religious Freedom Observatory, which shows that Nigerians account for 90% of all Christians worldwide each year.
The report records that between October 2019 and September 2023, a staggering 55,910 people were killed while 21,000 were kidnapped by terrorist groups operating in the region.
During the hearing, the committee chairman Chris Smith stressed the seriousness of the crisis, pointing to the testimony of Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, Bishop of the Diocese of Makurdi, Nigeria, as a viable witness.
He said: “Today, one of our outstanding witnesses – Wilfred Anagbe – has been with us for a long distance and his testimony is both convincing and disturbing.
“The warlike Fulani herders are terrorists. They steal and destroy, they kill and boast, kidnap and rape, they enjoy the complete impunity of elected officials. None of them were arrested or brought to justice.”
“There is no doubt that these attacks are religiously motivated,” the report said. He added: “The denial of this reality contradicts the overwhelming evidence we see with our own eyes. This “religious purge” must stop and must be held accountable.”
The Congress panel strongly criticized the Nigerian government for not addressing religiously motivated violence despite the constitution protecting religious freedom.
Legislators expressed concern about the weapons of Nigeria’s judicial system, which had invoked cases where blasphemy laws were used to target religious minorities.
“Although religious freedom is considered a fundamental right in its constitution, the Nigerian government has made little progress in addressing the persecution of Christians.
The subcommittee’s report said: “While Nigeria’s legal framework can ostensibly support religious diversity at the federal and state levels, huge contradictions persist – especially by limiting the laws of blasphemy to the law, some of which even result in the death penalty.”
Smith said the former administration accusing incoming President Joe Biden of weakening U.S. pressure on Nigeria, namely removing pressure on Nigeria from the list of countries of particular concern (CPC), which Smith said was initially realized during President Trump’s first term.
He noted that despite the four-year proposal made by the U.S. Council on International Religious Freedom (2021-2024), the Biden administration failed to restore Nigeria’s CPC status.
“Under President Biden’s leadership, Nigeria was removed from the CPC list, although there is a lot of evidence that religious persecution has worsened. This decision ignores repeated recommendations from the U.S. International Religious Freedom Commission,” he said.
He called on President Trump to take decisive action, including restoring Nigeria’s CPC name and interacting directly with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to ensure better protection for the Christian community.
“I totally hope that President Trump will re-appoint Nigeria as CPC and take other steps to support the persecuted church. Last night, I reintroduced a resolution on this issue and hopefully we will have a strong discussion that will lead to real action,” he added.
