James Adamu
Worried by the spate of kidnappings and killings, especially allegations of Christians genocide, American lawmakers are now asking for sanctions against Nigerian officials complicit in religious persecution.
The federal government of Nigeria is confronting pressure on multiple fronts, with the House of Representatives set to debate the contentious issue of state policing today, while President Bola Tinubu meets with the nation’s security chiefs.
The moves on the domestic front come as committees of the United States Congress held a joint briefing in Washington DC on Tuesday, focusing on the “slaughter of Christians in Nigeria” and the alleged failure of authorities to protect vulnerable communities.
The US session, led by House Appropriations Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart, was convened at the instance of President Donald Trump, who last month ordered an investigation into the killings.
Participants, including members of the House Appropriations and Foreign Affairs Committees, described the situation in stark terms.
“This is a targeted campaign of religious cleansing,” said Congressman Brian Mast, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee. He argued that extremist groups aim to “drive Christians out of their ancestral lands in the Middle Belt.”
Echoing the severity, Congressman Chris Smith labelled Nigeria “the ground zero of religious violence,” accusing the government of allowing perpetrators to act “with complete impunity.”
The briefing included testimonies from religious freedom experts. Sean Nelson of the Alliance Defending Freedom International detailed accounts of “Christians unjustly imprisoned by Sharia courts, false allegations of crimes merely for evangelism… and villages directly attacked.”
Dr. Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations identified Boko Haram as the central driver and urged the US to pressure President Tinubu to “make Sharia law unconstitutional in the 12 Northern states.”
Committee officials stated they are preparing a report for President Trump, which could inform decisions on sanctions following Nigeria’s recent redesignation as a “Country of Particular Concern” for religious freedom violations.
Concurrently, in Abuja, the Nigerian government is mobilising its response. The House of Representatives will today commence a long-awaited debate on the nation’s security architecture, with the creation of state police expected to be a central pillar.
Amid these legislative preparations, President Tinubu on Tuesday evening held a closed-door meeting with the nation’s security chiefs at the Presidential Villa.
The meeting, attended by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, the service chiefs, and heads of intelligence and law enforcement agencies, came just hours after the President nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa (retd.), as the new Minister of Defence.
The discussions are believed to centre on implementing the measures announced last week under Tinubu’s nationwide security emergency, which included the recruitment of 20,000 additional police officers and tighter protection for schools and places of worship.
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