*says 5,014 Christians killed in 2022
The United States lawmakers have asked President Joe Biden to return Nigeria to the country’s list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) following what it described as the unending religious killings in the country
Recall that the United States had removed Nigeria from its CPC list in 2021 after it was earlier listed in Nigeria December 2020 by the US department of State due to frequent religious conflicts and attacks by the Boko Haram sect, though the removal was protested by many human rights organisations.
But the lawmakers on Tuesday came up with a resolution urging the state department to return Nigeria on the annual CPC list
The New Jersey representative at the US House, Chris Smith, said Christians bear the brunt of the persecution in the country, and therefore argued that the Biden administration’s decision to exclude Nigeria from the list was an “unjustified decision”, adding that the re-inclusion was a “necessary fight to protect victims of religious persecution”.
“Last year alone, 5,014 Christians were killed in Nigeria — accounting for nearly 90% of Christian deaths worldwide as well [as] 90% of Christian kidnappings across the globe
“The Biden administration must act immediately and redesignate Nigeria as a country of particular concern to mitigate this alarming and growing threat to religious liberty.”
Another lawmaker, French Hill, from Arkansas, described Biden’s removal of Nigeria from the list as a “political move”.
“In 2020, Nigeria was a country of particular concern (CPC). Despite little having changed in Nigeria’s treatment of religious freedom since then, the Biden Administration continues to leave Nigeria off the CPC list for political gain,” Hill said.
“This resolution sends an important message to the Biden administration and the government of Nigeria that the US Congress sees what is happening there and will continue to speak out against the ongoing violence and the government’s inadequate response.”
It has been reported that at least 39 Catholic priests were killed by gunmen and 30 others were abducted in Nigeria in the year 2022.
Also the North-central zone of Nigeria has remained the worst hit with 12 killings while the North-west recorded nine deaths. The South-east and South-south recorded five deaths each while the north-east and north-west had four deaths each.
The latest religious killing in Nigeria was the killing of a Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr Isaac Achi, a priest of St. Peters and Paul Catholic Church in Kafin-Koro, Paikoro LGA of Niger state, who was burnt to death at his residence by bandits.
