House Committee Calls for Nigeria to be Added to CPC List

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee voted on February 7th to move forward with H. Res. 82, a House resolution calling for greater U.S. action in response to the religious freedom crisis in Nigeria.

The House resolution calls on the U.S. Secretary of State to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) of religious freedom offenders for “engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”

For the third year in a row the U.S. State Department released its annual Religious Freedom Watchlist, leaving Nigeria off the list. The failure of the State Department to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern came just after hundreds more Christians were murdered for their faith in Plateau State, Nigeria!

I have signed several letters to Secretary of State Blinken over the past three years demanding that Nigeria be placed back on the CPC list. Nigeria was removed from the list shortly after President Biden was sworn into office, despite the egregious behavior of that nation in ignoring or facilitating the murders of Christians.

I have personally visited the graves in Plateau State and spoken to the victims of the Fulani Muslim murderers.

In January Christians were killed in attacks in the Nigerian villages of Mangu, Omala, Iwilli, Kukareta, Gajirim, Ugboju, Pulka, Ekiti, Agatu, Gubio, Mafa, Bokkos, Arufu, and other areas. There are many more that were not in the news media to learn about.

The continuing killing of Christians, while worse in Nigeria, is not limited to Nigeria. Muslims target Christians wherever they can.

On January 30th eight Christians were beheaded in a church in Baeti, a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thirty more were injured. The attackers were Sunni Muslims.

On January 9th 14 were killed and 19 injured when Sunni Muslims placed a bomb in a bus in Homs, Syria.

The Western media is silent about the slaughter. Why? The Sunni Muslims who rule Saudi Arabia would get upset if the murders were reported. The West must appease its very wealthy Sunni Muslim ally, Saudi Arabia.

Please continue to pray for persecuted Christians all over the world. Please pray for the persecuted Christians of Plateau State, Nigeria. Your help is needed.