The United States has again designated Nigeria and nine other countries as countries guilty of violations of religious freedom.
The other countries are Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, the DPRK, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
In a statement on December 7, the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said the countries had been re-designated for the second time as Countries of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as amended.
The statement said, “Religious freedom is an unalienable right, and the bedrock upon which free societies are built and flourish. Today, the United States – a nation founded by those fleeing religious persecution, as the recent Commission on Unalienable Rights report noted – once again took action to defend those who simply want to exercise this essential freedom.
“The United States is designating Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, the DPRK, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as amended, for engaging in or tolerating “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom,” the statement read.
It was the second time Nigeria and the countries would be so designated.
Nigeria was included in the CPC list after an indictment by the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in 2019.
The Commission’s report had said at the time, “Religious freedom conditions in Nigeria trended negatively in 2018. The Nigerian government at the national and state levels continued to tolerate violence and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief, and suppressed the freedom to manifest religion or belief.”
It also said “religious sectarian violence increased during the year, with Muslims and Christians attacked based on their religious and ethnic identity.”
It also cited the violation of rights of members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), whose leader Sheikh Ibrahim El Zaky Zaky is still in detention despite a court ordering his release.
Following the report, the U. S government re-designated Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 while Cuba, Nicaragua, Nigeria, and Sudan were added to this list.”
The country also designated al-Nusra Front, al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Qa’ida, al-Shabab, Boko Haram, the Houthis, ISIS, ISIS-Khorasan, and the Taliban as Entities of Particular Concern.
Mr Pompeo said on Monday the U.S. had not renewed the prior Entity of Particular Concern designations for al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS-Khorasan because of the total loss of territory hitherto held by them.
“While these two groups no longer meet the statutory criteria for designation, we will not rest until we have fully eliminated the threat of religious freedom abuses by any violent extremist and terrorist groups,” he said.
The Nigeria authorities have reaction to the latest designation.
In a statement on December 8, the country rejected its listing amongst country’s guilty of violating religious freedom.
Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed, described the listing as a case of honest disagreement between the two nations on the causes of violence in Nigeria.
“Nigeria does not engage in religious freedom violation neither does it have a policy of religious persecution. Victims of insecurity and terrorism in the country are adherents of Christianity, Islam and other religions,” he said.
Mohammed noted that Nigeria jealously protects religious freedom as enshrined in the country’s constitution and takes seriously any infringements in this regard.
Previous Indictments
In January, a group, Open Doors USA, in a report, ranked Nigeria 12th among the 50 nations of the world where it is difficult to practice Christianity due to persecution.
Nigeria, according to the report, came behind Somalia, Libya, Eritrea and Sudan.
In June, Some British parliamentarians under the aegis of All Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief (APPG), launched a report on persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
The report, which was launched in the House of Commons in London, chronicled findings on persecution of people of Christian faith in Nigeria and also made recommendations to tackle the menace.
The UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief (APPG) is a group of over 100 British Parliamentarians from different political parties and from both Houses of Parliament.
It exists to promote Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”
The group, in the report, lamented the growing power and influence of Islamist extremism across the sahel.
In July, a group, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, in a report said no fewer than 1,200 Christians were killed in the first half of 2020.
It said the killings were carried out by Islamist militants and members of predominantly Muslim Fulani group.
The group said 390 of the victims were slaughtered by the Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province, both of which have links with ISIS while the Fulani herdsmen killed 812 others.
It further said the herdsmen targetted Christian farming communities.
In the same month, Frank Wolf, a former U.S. lawmaker and genocide expert, warned that Nigeria might become another Rwanda and Dafur (Sudan) if its authorities failed to check the persecution of Christians in the country.