US Congress to sanction Nigeria on Christian rights violations, blames Fulani armed men

By Ologeh Joseph Chibu

Nigeria is to face sanctions from the United States over allegations of persecution of Christians.

President Donald Trump has being mandated to work out the details which includes listing Nigeria as a country of concern for Christian rights violations.

The US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Friday approved the move to punish Nigeria for the infraction.

The Congress is alleging widespread killing of Christians and religious violence targeting the Christian community.

In other to ensure the sanctions are inposed on Nigeria, the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa asked President Donald Trump to impose stringent sanctions on Nigeria due to alleged widespread killing of Christians in the country.

The request came after the congressional hearing on Wednesday.

At the event, US lawmakers spoke against Nigeria alleging persecution of Christians in the country.

The US condemned the Nigerian government for failing to protect Christian communities from escalating violence.

In its report, the committee made reference to a 2024 report by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa.

The report claimed that Nigerians accounted for 90 per cent of all Christians killed worldwide each year.

The report claimed that between October 2019 and September 2023, a staggering 55,910 people were killed, while 21,000 others were abducted by terrorist groups operating in the region.

At the hearing, Committee Chairman Chris Smith, who highlighted the lingering danger listed the testimony of Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Diocese of Makurdi, Nigeria.

The told the committee that “One of our distinguished witnesses today—Bishop Wilfred Anagbe—travelled a long distance to be with us, and his testimony is both compelling and disturbing.

The Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) said that “Militant Fulani herdsmen are terrorists. They steal and vandalise, 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.”

“Make no mistake – these attacks are religiously motivated,”

The report stated further that “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 condemned Nigerian government for inability to deal with the faith driven killings to ensure constitutional protections for religious freedom.

The report stated that the Judiciary is being used to further the persecution of Christians

It stated “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.

“While Nigeria’s legal framework ostensibly supports religious pluralism at both federal and state levels, glaring contradictions persist—particularly in laws that criminalise blasphemy, some of which even carry the death penalty,” the subcommittee’s report stated.

The committee condemned former President President Joe Biden for failure to mount pressure on Nigeria.

It said Nigeria should not have been removed from from the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list

Smith noted that the US had adopted the position President Trump’s first term.

He said that despite four consecutive years of recommendations from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (2021–2024), President Biden failed to reinstate Nigeria’s CPC status.

The committed said “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.

President Trump was then asked to take firm action, including listing Nigeria’s CPC designation and engaging directly with Nigerian 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.

Trump was also asked by the U.S. Senate to get set to impose sanctions on Nigeria if the violence against Christians did not stop.

“This hearing should serve as a catalyst for action—not just within Congress but also within the Executive Branch,” he added.

“The new president has a responsibility to act, and I believe he will. If necessary, sanctions must be imposed. When they have been used in the past, they have brought change. Where there are no consequences, the killing fields remain.”