By Emmanuel Nduka
Five members of the United States Senate have challenged the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to designate Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over the worsening spate of religious intolerance.
The senators namely- Josh Hawley, Marco Rubio, Mike Braun, James Inhofe and Tom Cotton, expressed regret that recent high-profile acts of violence underscore the intense religious persecution that is regularly experienced by Nigerian Christians, adding that “religious violence and intolerance directed toward Nigerian Christians has worsened in recent years.”
In a letter dated June 29, 2022, signed by the five US lawmakers and addressed to the Secretary of State, the lawmakers reminded Blinken that “last year, you inexplicably removed Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).”
“The situation in Nigeria has grown worse. We previously urged you to immediately reverse your misguided decision, and we write today to renew our call,” the senators stated, citing the lack of demonstrable improvement in the country’s religious freedom conditions.
“As you are well aware, horrific acts of deadly violence have been committed against Nigerian Christians in recent weeks, including the massacre of churchgoers on Pentecost Sunday and the stoning of a Christian college student.
“Sadly, such violence has become all too familiar for Christians in Africa’s most populous country…On Pentecost Sunday, gunmen attacked St. Francis Catholic Church in Nigeria’s Ondo State, reportedly killing at least 50 churchgoers.
“Last month, a violent mob brutally stoned to death Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, a student at Shehu Shagari College of Education in Northwest Nigeria. According to reports, some Islamist students were enraged by a ‘blasphemous’ message Deborah had posted in a WhatsApp group, in which she said that ‘Jesus Christ is the greatest. He helped me pass my exams.’ Merely expressing one’s Christian faith has apparently become tantamount to a death sentence in many parts of Nigeria,” part of the letter read.
The senators noted that one report documented more than 4, 650 cases of Nigerian Christians who were killed for their faith in 2021, adding that “Accordingly, Nigeria earns the dubious honour-for the second consecutive year of being the deadliest country on earth for Christians.”
“The State Department released its 2021 report on International Religious Freedom on June 2, which starts the 90-day timeline for the department to make its religious freedom designations.
“Given the abysmal state of religious freedom in Nigeria, it is incumbent upon you to reverse last year’s decision and re-designate the country as a CPC. The moment demands that you do so without delay.
“Despite public statements from you and other State Department officials condemning the recent bloodshed in Nigeria, the fact remains that the Department still does not officially regard Nigeria as a severe violator of religious freedom.
“Wh
en we previously wrote you, we were met with a response which failed to answer our questions about why the State Department views Nigeria as not having engaged in or tolerated ‘systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom’ or even severe violations of religious freedom.
“This is unacceptable, especially because you are required by federal law to consider the recommendation of USCIRF-which, since 2009, has been to designate Nigeria as a CPC. In fact, USCIRF reiterated in its 2022 Annual Report that it was ‘appalled’ at the removal of Nigeria’s CPC designation,” the letter read in part.
