US Congress to hold hearing on alleged Christian persecution in Nigeria
The United States Congress will on Thursday hear allegations of Christian persecution in Nigeria, following President Donald Trump’s redesignation of the country as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
The hearing will be chaired by Chris Smith, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa.
Smith, one of several U.S. lawmakers championing the allegations, had earlier introduced a resolution naming the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as culpable entities. Recommended sanctions for members of the groups include visa bans and asset freezes.
The resolution also urged the U.S. government to place “Fulani-Ethnic Militias” operating in Benue and Plateau states on the Entities of Particular Concern (EPC) list under the International Religious Freedom Act.
According to Smith’s office, Thursday’s congressional hearing will examine the “ongoing religious persecution of Christians by radical Islamists,” the broader implications of Trump’s CPC re-designation of Nigeria, and what course of action the U.S. State Department should take in response to what it described as the “Nigerian government’s complicity in these crimes.”
A partial list of witnesses on the first panel includes Jonathan Pratt, senior bureau official at the Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. State Department; and Jacob McGee, deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour.
The second panel will comprise Nina Shea, senior fellow and director at the Centre for Religious Freedom; Wilfred Anagbe, bishop of the Makurdi Diocese; and Oge Onubogu, director and senior fellow, Africa Programme, Centre for Strategic & International Studies.
