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The United States congress will hear allegations of Christian persecution in Nigeria on Thursday following President Donald Trump’s re-designation of the African nation as a country of particular concern (CPC).
The hearing will be chaired by Chris Smith, chairman of the house foreign affairs Africa sub-committee.
Smith, who has been one of several US lawmakers pushing the allegations, had introduced a resolution naming the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as erring entities.
Sanctions recommended on members of the groups included visa bans and asset freezes.
The resolution also asked that the US place “Fulani-Ethnic Militias” operating in Benue and Plateau states on the entities of particular concern (EPC) list under the International Religious Freedom Act.
Thursday’s congressional hearing will examine the “ongoing religious persecution of Christians by radical Islamists”, the wide-reaching implications of Trump’s re-designation of Nigeria as a CPC, and the course of action the US State Department should follow in response to the “Nigerian government’s complicity in these crimes”, Smith’s office said.
A partial list of witnesses on the first panel include Jonathan Pratt, senior bureau official, bureau of African Affairs, State Department; and Jacob McGee, deputy assistant secretary, bureau of democracy, human rights, and labour, State Department.
The second panel will comprise Nina Shea, senior fellow and director, Centre for Religious Freedom; Wilfred Anagbe, bishop of Makurdi diocese; and Oge Onubogu, director and senior fellow, Africa Programme, Centre for Strategic & International Studies.
