The United States Congress is considering a bill that seeks to impose visa bans and freeze assets belonging to members of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore.
The proposed legislation, introduced on Tuesday by Congressman Christopher Smith, targets individuals and groups accused of being “responsible for or complicit in severe violations of religious freedom” under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).
Smith’s proposal came amid rising US concern over what American lawmakers described as systematic persecution of Christians and religious minorities in Nigeria.
“This bill seeks to hold accountable those who enable or commit grave abuses against religious minorities,” Smith said while presenting the measure. He also praised former US President Donald Trump for re-designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), citing persistent attacks on Christian communities in Benue and Plateau States.
If passed, the bill will empower US authorities to impose travel restrictions and freeze financial assets of individuals or organizations linked to groups listed under the “Entities of Particular Concern (EPCs)” category.
The legislation specifically identifies Fulani ethnic militias operating in central Nigeria as EPCs. Other groups under the same designation include Boko Haram, ISIS-West Africa, ISIS-Sahel, the Taliban, and the Houthis.
The bill followed Trump’s recent directive to Congressmen Riley Moore and Tom Cole, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, to investigate alleged killings of Christians in Nigeria and submit a detailed report.
In a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Congressman Moore urged immediate action to end what he called the “systematic persecution and slaughter of Christians in Nigeria.”
Last Friday, Trump declared Nigeria a “country of particular concern” and ordered the US Department of War to prepare contingency measures against “terror-linked actors,” a move that triggered strong criticism from Abuja.
The Nigerian Federal Government dismissed the allegations, insisting that freedom of religion is constitutionally protected. However, US officials rejected the defence, pointing to continuous reports of religiously motivated violence across several states.
The new congressional move adds to a growing wave of legislative scrutiny of Nigeria’s human-rights record.
In September, Senator Ted Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025 (S.2747), co-sponsored by Senator Ted Budd and four others. That bill seeks to reinstate Nigeria’s CPC status and sanction officials found complicit in religious persecution or violence.
US lawmakers claim that since 2009, over 52,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria, while more than 20,000 churches and Christian institutions have been destroyed or attacked.
If enacted, the new bill will mandate the US State Department to publish annual human-rights reports on Nigeria and recommend visa bans or financial sanctions where violations persist.
