US lawmakers say Nigeria stalling on protection of Christians

Trump and Tinubu

United States lawmakers have accused the Nigerian government of foot-dragging on measures to end the alleged persecution of Christians in the country.

The lawmakers convened a roundtable on Tuesday to discuss the escalating violence in the country and what they say is a targeted persecution of Christians.

Participants in the hearing included Mario Díaz-Balart, house appropriations committee vice chair and national security, Department of State, and related programmes subcommittee chairman; Robert Aderholt, labour, health and human services, education, and related agencies subcommittee chairman and values action team (VAT) chair; and Riley Moore, appropriations legislative branch subcommittee vice chair and leading religious liberty advocate.Other participants included Brian Mast, foreign affairs committee chairman; Chris Smith, foreign affairs Africa subcommittee chairman; Vicky Hartzler, US Commission on International Religious Freedom chair; Sean Nelson, Alliance Defending Freedom International; and Ebenezer Obadare, Council on Foreign Relations.

During the discussions, Smith said, Christians and “moderate” Muslims in Nigeria live under the constant threat of murder, rape, and torture by radical Islamist groups, such as Boko Haram and Fulani terrorists.

“The most brutal and murderous anti-Christian persecution in the world — as well as the systemic targeting and killing of moderate Muslims who speak out against radical Islamists or refuse to conform with their extreme ideals — occurs in Nigeria, the ground zero of religious violence,” he said.

The lawmaker added that the Nigerian government has a constitutional obligation to protect its citizens but has failed, owing to how the “perpetrators of this persecution operate with complete impunity”. Thecable