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Take Action: CO-SPONSORS NEEDED FOR H. RES. 220

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Rep. Chris Smith’s Resolution Calls on President Trump To Designate and Sanction Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern

 

Take two minutes to TAKE ACTION. We make it easy to contact your Member in Congress and ask them to co-sponsor H. Res. 220 for Nigeria.

Human rights champion and House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa chair Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) has submitted H. Res. 220 calling for Nigeria to be designated and sanctioned as a Country of Particular Concern. The resolution expresses Congress’ sense that Nigeria should be designated and sanctioned as a Country of Particular Concern by President Trump per the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act for ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.

The new H. Res. 220 differs from the earlier version in that it no longer asks for a special envoy for Nigeria. The revised resolution needs to gain co-sponsors in the House once again to move forward.

Currently, only Mr. French Hill and Mr. Smith have co-sponsored H. Res. 220. At the very least, the 32 other Members who previously co-sponsored should add their names.

That’s the reason for this action campaign.

BACKGROUND ON RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA:

Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, is also the deadliest place on the planet for persecuted Christians. Nigeria is a constitutional democracy with a large population, some 220 million citizens, which is estimated to be roughly 50/50 Christian/Muslim. By 2050, Nigeria’s population is expected to overtake America’s, becoming the world’s third most populous nation.

The Observatory on Religious Freedom in Africa (OFRA) in its 2024 report, “Nigeria Violence Overview (Oct 2019 – Sep 2023),” notes 55,910 civilians, terrorists and Nigerian security agents were killed. Thirty percent, 16,769, were Christian. A further 22,532 were abducted (many held in torture camps near military installations). Fifty percent, 11,185, of those taken hostage were Christians.

The predominately Christian states immediately in what’s known as the Christian Middle Belt, face gruesome, near-daily attacks similar to what Israel experienced on October 7, 2023, and are subject to mass kidnapping, rape, torture and killings by Fulani Ethnic Militias coming from the northern states and across Nigeria’s porous borders. The Nigerian government refers to these tribal terrorists as “bandit groups” and insists on describing the ceaseless violence perpetrated on subsistence farming communities with a false narrative, claiming the attacks on sleepy Christian communities and churches are mere squabbles between farmers and herders caused by climate change. When attacks in the Middle Belt take place—even near military installations—security agents do not respond until the violence ends, making them appear complicit in the attacks. Nor do they make official reports or rebuke the behavior publicly. All of this serves to suppress the facts and data on violence against Christians that is occurring in Nigeria and the true numbers of those impacted.

Indeed, the Nigerian government intentionally suppresses reports of home-grown, funded and enabled Fulani Ethnic Militia violence in the Christian Middle Belt, preferring instead to draw international attention to counter-terrorism efforts against ISWAP and Boko Haram insurrectionists in the far north.

Rarely does either the Nigerian government or international media speak about the violence in the Christian Middle Belt. Broad references to “violence in the north” serve to suppress the critical issue of millions upon millions of internally displaced people, thousands of occupied properties, villages and farms, and the inevitable food crisis to come across Nigeria as Christian farmers are prevented from going to their farms. When Nigeria crumbles, all of Africa and beyond will suffer the consequences for generations to come.

This may be the last opportunity for the United States and the West to act to counter the malign influence of the evil axis of China, Russia and Iranian expansion across the Sahel and particularly in Nigeria.

The 1998 U.S. International Religious Freedom Act mandates the U.S. President designate and sanction countries that participate in or allow ongoing and egregious acts of religious freedom violations in their domain. We urge Congress to add their name in support of a Country of Particular Concern designation for Nigeria and to implement sanctions and other tough measures to hold accountable the perpetrators of crimes against humanity.

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