IV
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. RES. 220
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need to designate Nigeria
a Country of Particular Concern for engaging in and tolerating system-
atic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, and for
other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH11, 2025
Mr. S
MITHof New Jersey submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need to
designate Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern for
engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egre-
gious violations of religious freedom, and for other pur-
poses.
Whereas the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998
(Public Law 105–292) mandates the designation of
Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) for nations en-
gaged in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious
violations of religious freedom;
Whereas, Nigeria appears to maintain an open border policy
that enables radicalized Fulani Ethnic Militants (FEM)
and ISIS-linked extremist groups, including Lakurawa,
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•HRES 220 IH
to enter Nigeria unimpeded from Mali, Niger, Chad, and
Burkina Faso;
Whereas, for over a decade, Islamic terror organizations have
carried out mass murder, rape, kidnappings, and other
atrocities targeting mostly Nigerian Christians and non-
Fulani moderate Muslim populations, resulting in mass
displacement and destruction of places of worship, in
what appears to be a concerted effort for a Fulani-con-
trolled empire modeled upon the caliphate in northern
Nigeria established by Usman dan Fodio, in the late 18th
and early 19th century;
Whereas, prominent Christian and Muslim leaders have been
kidnapped or assassinated, including priests, pastors, and
imams who advocate for religious tolerance;
Whereas, activists speaking out against persecution have
faced threats, arrests, and harassment from both extrem-
ist groups and government authorities;
Whereas, northern Nigeria has seen the destruction of ‘‘over
18,000 churches since 2009’’ in attacks by Boko Haram
militants, Fulani herdsmen, and others, according to a
2023 Vatican report, and in 2021, the Department of
State reported five attacks on mosques by unidentified
gunmen, bandits, and Boko Haram;
Whereas, approximately 34,000 moderate non-Fulani Mus-
lims also died in attacks, since 2009, from extremist
groups for opposing radical Islamic ideologies;
Whereas, ethnic and religiously inspired violence occurring in
Nigeria is causing unspeakable suffering and the dis-
placement of between 3.5 to 5 million internally displaced
persons (IDPs) in northeastern Nigeria, and 343,000
registered Nigerian refugees in the Lake Chad region;
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•HRES 220 IH
Whereas, in 2020, the Department of State designated Nige-
ria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) pursuant to
the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22
U.S.C. 6401 et seq.);
Whereas, in 2021, 2022, and 2023, the Department of State
omitted Nigeria from its CPC list and in 2024 did not
release a CPC list or its annual International Religious
Freedom Report;
Whereas these conflicts are often framed as resource-based
disputes between herders and farmers, but the systematic
targeting of Christian communities and religious leaders
points to an underlying religious dimension, compounded
by ethnicity;
Whereas, on May 22, 2024, then-Secretary of State Antony
Blinken testified to the House Committee on Appropria-
tions that the killings of Christian farmers in Nigeria
‘‘has nothing to do with religion,’’ a categorical statement
which is inconsistent with readily discernable evidence;
Whereas multiple media reports, including from BBC, CNN,
and Reuters, have highlighted religious persecution, at-
tacks on houses of worship, and the Government of Nige-
ria has been unable or unwilling to effectively investigate
and prosecute perpetrators of religiously motivated vio-
lence, leading to a culture of impunity;
Whereas blasphemy laws have also been used to target reli-
gious minorities and dissenters, with harsh penalties, in-
cluding death sentences;
Whereas, in 12 northern States, Sharia law is implemented
alongside secular law, leading to discrimination against
non-Muslims and even Muslims who do not adhere to
strict interpretations of Islamic law;
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•HRES 220 IH
Whereas the Department of State should have a coherent pol-
icy that acknowledges and addresses the ethnic, religious,
financial, security, and political dimensions of the stag-
gering levels of violence and internal displacement within
Nigeria, and that the Government of Nigeria must call
upon significant foreign support to house and feed those
displaced by the violence;
Whereas the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury is responsible for
tracking funds flowing into terrorist and organized crimi-
nal organizations who pose a threat to the national secu-
rity of the United States;
Whereas the United States and Nigeria are allies and trading
partners with important, shared security interests;
Whereas, since FY2020, the United States Government has
obligated more than $3.53 billion and disbursed more
than $2.24 billion in non-military foreign assistance to,
or for use in, Nigeria;
Whereas, since FY2020, the Department of Defense has obli-
gated in excess of $83,507,253 to provide military and
security assistance to the Government of Nigeria;
Whereas the United States foreign policy toward Nigeria
should consider these factors and justify the purposes for,
and amounts of, financial assistance provided by the
United States to and in Nigeria; to identify and justify
the outcomes of that assistance; and
Whereas the designation of Nigeria as a CPC would enhance
diplomatic efforts to encourage the Nigerian government
to take necessary actions to protect religious minorities
and uphold fundamental human rights: Now, therefore,
be it
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Resolved, That it is the Sense of the House of Rep-1
resentatives that— 2
(1) The Secretary of State should designate Ni-3
geria as a Country of Particular Concern under the 4
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 6 5
U.S.C. 6401 et seq.), which mandates the designa-6
tion of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) for 7
nations engaged in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, 8
and egregious violations of religious freedom; 9
(2) The Government of Nigeria must take im-10
mediate and effective steps to prevent religious per-11
secution, prosecute perpetrators of violence, take ac-12
tion to care for the millions of internally displaced 13
persons, and uphold constitutional protections for re-14
ligious freedom; 15
(3) The State Department should increase U.S. 16
diplomatic engagement with Nigerian officials to ad-17
dress religious freedom violations and develop strate-18
gies for long-term peace and stability; 19
(4) The United States should impose targeted 20
sanctions and other measures against individuals 21
and entities responsible for severe violations of reli-22
gious freedom in Nigeria; and 23
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•HRES 220 IH
(5) The United States is committed to pro-1
moting religious freedom and human rights as 2
foundational principles of U.S. foreign policy. 3
Æ
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