On Friday, the State Department became the focal point of religious liberty advocates because Nigeria was omitted from the government watch list for countries that support, allow, or endorse religious violence.
According to the Washington Times, Republican Representative Chris Smith of New Jersey said, “Secretary Blinken’s continued refusal to place Nigeria on the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) when the Biden administration should be confronting President Buhari is appalling.”
December 06, 2022
Smith added, “The deterioration of human rights in Nigeria - the topic of congressional hearings I have chaired - and the Biden administration’s totally unjustified retreat from the fight to protect victims of religious persecution means there will be an oversight item in the new Congress.”
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Secretary of State Blinken has “determined that the status of religious freedom in Nigeria did not meet the legal threshold “to be included on the list,” according to a spokesperson for the State Department.
Nury Turkel, United States Commissioner on International Religious Freedom, disagreed with Blinken’s decision to leave Nigeria off the list, saying the conditions were “clearly” met, and Nigeria should be included.
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According to a report by the International Society for Civil Liberty and Rule of Law, more than 4,000 Christians have been killed, and Islamic Jihadist groups kidnaped another 2,000. The report was posted last month before the decision to refuse the admittance of Nigeria to the list.
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December 06, 2022
The group has accused the government of Nigeria of being overly friendly to some terrorist groups. Action to crack down on the persecution of Christians by the government was demanded by others in the group.
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A petition to put Nigeria on the Countries of Particular Concern list was initiated by the Alliance Defending Freedom before the State Department’s decision.
The petition noted, “we cannot remain silent while our brothers and sisters are being persecuted and martyred for their faith. The killings must stop. The torture must stop. The least we can do as Americans is take a stand by acknowledging the very real evil taking place in Nigeria at this time.”
According to Open Doors, Nigeria ranks 7th as the most challenging country worldwide to be a Christian.
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