Despite the Federal Government’s clarification that attacks across Northern states do not have a religious colouration, the United States (US) President Donald Trump has declared that Nigeria has been added to the list of nations on the country’s watchlist.
Trump stated that Nigeria was added to the list over alleged widespread killings of Christians by the Sect. propagating the spread of the Islamic religion across the northern states.
Announcing the decision on Friday, he stressed that designating Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” was the sole decision needed to protect people who were persecuted for their faith.
In a statement made available through his social media handle, Trump said he has directed Rep. Riley Moore, R-W. Va., Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., and members of the House Appropriations Committee to investigate the situation and report their findings to him.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a “COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN” — But that is the least of it.”
“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries,” Trump said. “We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!”
In June, militants attacked the village of a bishop, just days after he testified before Congress about Christian persecution, leaving more than twenty people dead. Similar assaults in Plateau and Benue states have killed hundreds this year alone, with survivors describing how gunmen shouted “Allahu Akbar” as they torched churches and homes.
According to the international watchdog group Open Doors, nearly 70% of all Christians killed for their faith worldwide last year were in Nigeria. The group warns that Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Fulani militant herders are responsible for most of the bloodshed, often targeting Christian farmers in the country’s Middle Belt. Rights organizations estimate that thousands of believers are murdered every year, while countless others are forced to flee.
Mark Walker, President Trump’s ambassador-designate for International Religious Freedom, told Fox News Digital that the United States must do what it can to pressure Nigeria’s government to act.
