Many human rights organizations which included religious groups led by Advancing American Freedom, Alliance Defending Freedom, the Hudson Institute, former Ambassador Sam Brownback and former defence and national security officials have petitioned U.S. Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) due to the murder of hundreds of Christians.
In the petition, the groups recalled the suspected herdsmen attacks on Plateau communities during the festive period. More than Over 150 were killed on December 24, 2023.
The organizations said: “Less than two weeks ago, almost 200 Nigerian Christians became martyrs while celebrating Christmas. According to one account, these Christians were ‘killed for sport.’ Just weeks earlier, the Christian Association of Nigeria received a letter threatening them against celebrating Christmas.
“The international religious freedom community stands outraged at your refusal to hold these acts of evil to account.
“The eyes of the world look to the United States as a beacon of hope and freedom. Religious freedom is grounded in the American founding, enshrined in the Bill of Rights, and quintessential to what it means to be an American. When the United States stands silent as evil runs amok, the world takes notice.”
The call to list Nigeria as a CPC came following a catholic-inspired advocacy group, Intersociety, stated that Islamic militants have gruesomely murdered at least 52,250 Christians in the last 14 years.
Led by Emeka Umeagbalasi, its Director, the human rights advocacy group stated that over 500 Christians were killed in January 2023 alone. It accused the government of Nigeria at various levels of complicity in the killings of the worshippers and predicted that the most populous African nation may be on the brink of a “religious war.”
On January 4, Blinken announced that he would designate countries like Iran and Russia, as CPC, however, Nigeria, notable for religious crisis and killings, was not included in the list.
According to Pew Research, Nigeria has the biggest Christian population in Africa with over 80 million believers.
In December 2019, the United States placed Nigeria on its special watch list after the government tolerated severe violations of religious freedom.
The placement did not come until December 2020, when the U.S. finally designated Nigeria as CPC under former President Muhammadu Buhari, after the series of killings in the north.
