The United States Congress has paved the way for President Donald Trump to impose stringent sanctions on Nigeria over killing of Christians in the West African nation.
This followed a resolution by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa after a congressional hearing on Wednesday, March 12.
The committee noted that religious persecution of Christians in Nigeria has worsened in recent years.
It also berated the Nigerian government for allegedly failing to protect Christian communities from religiously-motivated violence.
At Wednesday’s hearing, the Committee Chairman, Rep. Chris Smith highlighted testimony from a witness, Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Diocese of Makurdi, Nigeria.
According to him, Anagbe’s testimony was “compelling and disturbing”.
Smith said, “One of our distinguished witnesses today—Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the diocese of Makurdi, Nigeria— travelled a long distance to be with us today and will testify, and this is from his testimony. Militant Fulani herdsmen are terrorists.”
He added, “They steal and vandalise, they kill and boast about it, they kidnap and rape, and they enjoy total impunity from the elected officials. None of them have been arrested and brought to justice.”
The committee also cited a 2024 report by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, which stated that Nigerians account for 90 per cent of all Christians killed worldwide each year.
According to the report, no fewer than 55,910 people were killed and 21,000 others abducted by terrorist groups operating in the region between October 2019 and September 2023.
The committee queried why the Nigerian government has failed to protect Christians despite constitutionally guaranteed freedom of worship.
“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 committee report reads in part.
Smith blamed the previous administration of Joe Biden for removing Nigeria from the list of Country of Particular Concern (CPC), which was first imposed during President Trump’s first term.
He said the Biden administration failed to reinstate Nigeria’s CPC status in spite of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom’s recommendations between 2021 and 2024.
Smith asked the Trump administration and the US Senate to prepare to impose sweeping sanctions on Nigeria if the killing of Christians is not curtailed.
The committee chairman further charged the Trump government to assist Christians in Nigeria, particularly by restoring Nigeria’s CPC status and engaging with the Bola Tinubu administration to stop the persecution and killings.
“This hearing should serve as a catalyst for action—not just within Congress but also within the Executive Branch.
“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,” Smith stated.
