Human rights activists have called on US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to put Nigeria back on the list of the world's worst religious freedom violators in light of increasing attacks on Christians.
In 2020, the State Department listed Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)” in the State Department's International Religious Freedom Report. The country is listed for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom. "
The State Department removed Nigeria from its list of CPCs in November 2021, despite what observers say is an increasing number of attacks against Christians.
In a September 19 letter addressed to Blinken, 68 religious freedom NGOs and human rights experts called on the Secretary of State to “designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC) in consultation with regional representatives and appoint a special envoy to investigate the situation and make recommendations. "
The letter, led by ADF International, also included statistics from human rights activists indicating an increasingly hostile environment against Nigerian Christians.
“After the still unexplained removal of Nigeria's CPC designation in November 2021, both the general level of violence and specific targeting of Christians increased. Open Doors found more Christians killed in Nigeria in 2021—4,650—than in all other countries in the world combined,” the letter said.
"The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law views the trend for 2022 as on track to surpass that number, with no fewer than 2,543 Christians killed in jihadist-related violence in the first half of 2022," the letter continued.
The terrorist attack on the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, on Pentecost Sunday, June 5, which killed 40 people, brought the crisis of the Catholic faith in Nigeria to the world's attention.
In their letter, the signatories noted that the U.S. The Commission on International Religious Freedom viewed the removal of the CPC designation in 2021 as “appalling.”
Nigerian religious and civic leaders, including Bishop Jude Arogundade, who oversees the Ondo diocese, where St. Francis Xavier Church was attacked, have publicly criticized the removal of the CPC designation and called for a Special Envoy to lead an investigation of violations of religious freedom in Nigeria, the letter noted.
The letter also called attention to criminal blasphemy laws and "a government crackdown on speech" that has also contributed to a loss of religious freedom in Nigeria.
"The Nigerian government's ability and willingness to control militancy remains extremely questionable," the letter stated.
"The CPC designation and Special Envoy are vital to recognizing the gravity of the religious freedom violations occurring in the country," the letter concluded, "and the government's unwillingness to control the problems, as well as its contributions to the problems."