Over 32,000 people have petitioned the United States Government requesting it to return Nigeria to the list of countries with religious freedom violators.
The petition, coordinated by Established by Revelation and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), was delivered to the White House, Washington, Christian Post reports.
The Biden administration, in November 2021, removed Nigeria from the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC). The removal came a day before the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who was on tour of some African countries, arrived in Nigeria.
“The United States will not waiver in its commitment to advocate for freedom of religion or belief for all and in every country,” Blinken promised at the time.
Nigeria had been added to the list in December 2020 during Donald Trump Presidency following an indictment by the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Petitioners’ demand
However, the petitioners said returning Nigeria to the list would “send a powerful message that the religious persecution taking place in Nigeria is unacceptable.”
The petition further stated, “It is time to stand against this violence and add Nigeria back to the Countries of Particular Concern list immediately.
“In the months of January 2021 to March 2022, over 6,000 Christians have been martyred in Nigeria, and approximately 4,500 Christians have been abducted in the same timeframe. Millions of Christians throughout the country, but especially in the North, live in fear that they might be next.”
Kelsey Zorzi, the director of advocacy for global religious freedom for ADF International, a legal non-profit dedicated to defending religious freedom, stresses that the U.S. must “maintain pressure on Nigeria.”
Zorzi added, “Removing Nigeria from the Country of Particular Concern list signaled an alarming disregard for the state of religious freedom in the country.
“The high level of support for this petition makes clear that there is a strong consensus for significant action to counter the religious freedom violations happening in Nigeria.”
US Senators’ earlier demand
The petition comes some months after five US senators, in a memo dated June 29, to Blinken, asked the government to reinstate Nigeria to the list of CPC because of the declining state of religion in the country.
The senators, all Republican, are Josh Hawley (Missouri), Marco Rubio (Florida), Mike Brawn (Indiana), Tom Cotton (Arkansas), and James Inhofe (Oklahoma).
Their demand came about three weeks after a Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, South West Nigeria, was attacked by suspected terrorists leading to the death of over 40 worshippers.
Earlier in May, a student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, North West Nigeria, Deborah Samuel, was lynched by a Muslim mob for alleged blasphemy.
Besides, scores of Christian clerics have been kidnapped by terrorists and bandits with some of them killed by their abductors and others freed after paying ransom.
The senators said, “As you are aware, horrific acts of deadly violence have been committed against Nigerian Christian in recent weeks, including the massacre of churchgoers on Pentecost Sunday and the stoning of Christian college student. Sadly such violence has become has become all too familiar for Christians in Africa’s most populous country.
“Last year, however, you inexplicably removed Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) despite no demonstrable improvement in the country’s religious freedom conditions.
“On the contrary, 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.
“Recent high-profile acts of violence underscore the intense religious persecution that is regularly experienced by Nigerian Christians.
They urged the American government to reverse the decision to remove Nigerian from the list of CPC.
“Given the abysmal state of religious freedom in Nigeria, it is incumbent upon you to reverse last year’s decision and redesignate the country as a CPC. The moment demands that you do so without delay,” the said in the memo dated June 29.
Nigeria difficult country to follow Jesus
Earlier in the year, Christian watchdog, ranked Nigeria seventh among the over 50 countries of the world where it is difficult to follow Christ because of extreme persecution of Christians.
The group said more Christians were killed in Nigeria than any other country in the world in 2021.
Only last week, a group, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), says over 4,000 Christians were killed in the first 10 months of 2022, Christian Post reports.
It also said about 2,000 other Christians were abducted in the country within the same period of January to October.
CPC annual designation
The State Department is preparing to release its annual CPC designation. The designation aims to enhance “policy options designed to bring about a cessation of the particularly sever violations of religious freedom.”
The CPC designation was mandated by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1988.