United States lawmakers have renewed scrutiny of religious freedom in Nigeria, citing ongoing violence against Christians and criticising recent lobbying efforts by Nigerian interests in Washington.
Concerns over religious freedom in Nigeria were revisited on Wednesday during a hearing in Washington DC, where US lawmakers examined countries they said were facing serious threats to freedom of worship. During the session, members of the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee discussed Nigeria’s situation, a characterisation Nigerian authorities have previously rejected.
Citing Genocide Watch, the subcommittee chairman, Chris Smith, described Nigeria as “a killing field of defenceless Christians,” adding that recent US policy actions marked a shift in approach. “That wrong in our foreign policy has been righted with the President’s CPC designation. We commend and thank him for that action,” Smith said, while noting that Nigeria had taken only “small steps” toward improving religious freedom.
Smith also criticised recent lobbying contracts linked to Nigeria, saying they reflected “a culture of denial by Nigerian officials.” In December, the Nigerian government hired DCI Group in a $9 million contract to help communicate its efforts to protect Christians to the US government, while the same month Matthew Tonlagha, vice-chairman of Tantita Security Services, engaged Valcour Global Public Strategy for the “purpose of strengthening the bilateral relationship” between the US and Nigeria.