US accuses Nigerian government of backing religious killers

DDM News

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has urged stronger action regarding Nigeria’s worsening religious freedom crisis.

According to Diaspora digital media (DDM), In its March 2025 annual report, the commission asked the U.S. government to appoint a Special Envoy to Nigeria.

The Special Envoy, according to USCIRF, would focus on Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin’s escalating religious freedom violations.

This move aims to enhance U.S. diplomatic efforts to address religious violence and prevent further atrocities in the region.

USCIRF also wants Nigeria designated a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) due to ongoing faith-based attacks and state inaction.

The report accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration of tolerating or poorly responding to religiously motivated violence by nonstate actors.

It emphasized the Nigerian government’s failure to halt attacks from Islamic extremists, Fulani militants, and armed bandit groups.

These groups, the report said, continue targeting Christian communities, churches, and villages with killings, kidnappings, and destruction of property.

In January 2024, JAS insurgents killed 14 people, including a local pastor, in Yobe State.

By May 2024, Ansaru gunmen abducted 160 schoolchildren, mostly Christians, in Niger State in a highly publicized incident.

Despite these events, the report stated that security forces often arrived late or failed to intervene effectively.

This delay has led to more deaths, trauma, and displacement in already vulnerable religious minority communities.

USCIRF also recommended redesignating Boko Haram and ISWAP as Entities of Particular Concern (EPCs) due to their ongoing brutality.

These groups continue to wage war against civilian populations, especially Christians and Muslims opposing extremist ideology.

The commission highlighted that Fulani bandits, estimated at 30,000, regularly attack Christian communities and disrupt farming in northwest Nigeria.

This has worsened food insecurity and increased displacement across several states in the region.

Apart from insurgent violence, USCIRF criticized Nigeria’s enforcement of blasphemy laws, calling them oppressive and discriminatory.

Federal law punishes blasphemy with up to two years in prison, while some states impose even harsher penalties.

As of December 2024, five individuals remained jailed under blasphemy charges, including Mubarak Bala and Yahaya Sharif-Aminu.

The commission also cited religious suppression by state governments against indigenous religious practices and traditional beliefs.

In July 2024, Anambra State demolished an indigenous shrine, following calls by Catholic bishops to end “neo-paganism.”

This act raised concerns about growing intolerance toward non-Abrahamic religious groups and local spiritual traditions.

USCIRF also recommended that Afghanistan, India, and Vietnam be added to the CPC list alongside Nigeria.

Twelve countries, including China, Iran, and North Korea, were proposed for redesignation as CPCs due to continued violations.

Ten additional countries, such as Egypt, Indonesia, and Syria, may also be added to the Special Watch List.

Groups like al-Shabaab, HTS, and the Houthis were also named among dangerous religious extremist organizations in the 2025 report.

The commission stressed that only proactive U.S. leadership and accountability measures can counter the worsening religious crisis in Nigeria.

It called on the Trump administration to prioritize diplomatic, humanitarian, and security responses in partnership with Nigerian authorities.

USCIRF believes appointing a Special Envoy will focus international attention and resources on curbing religious persecution.

The commission’s recommendations serve as a wake-up call to both U.S. and Nigerian leaders.

Failure to act could further endanger vulnerable communities and weaken regional stability in the Lake Chad Basin.

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