A Deputy Assistant Secretary at the United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, Jacob McGee, has applauded President Donald Trump for designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
Speaking on Thursday at the public hearing of the US Congress on Nigeria’s CPC status, McGee stated that the United States will always be ready to champion the rights of Christians.
He cited the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, who was lynched by a mob after being accused of blasphemy.
“Her murderers remain free,” McGee said, describing the incident as part of a troubling pattern of abuses, torture, disappearances and extrajudicial killings linked to blasphemy accusations.
He lamented that the annual International Religious Freedom (IRF) reports consistently document severe violations in Nigeria.
The official also accused the Nigerian government of failing to protect religious leaders who speak out.
He referenced Bishop Wilfred Anagbe and Father Remigius, who he said received threats instead of protection after testifying before US lawmakers last year.
McGee further condemned Nigeria’s blasphemy laws, enforced under Sharia penal codes in 12 states, saying they violate free speech and place the country among only eight worldwide where blasphemy can carry the death penalty.
He warned that the US would continue to monitor religious freedom in Nigeria and “act until the Nigerian government protects vulnerable Christians and holds perpetrators accountable.”
He said “That the United States stands ready to champion the rights of Christians and protect them from religious persecution. The religious freedom situation in Nigeria is well documented in the annual IRF reports. The IRF act, designed by Congress nearly three decades ago, establishes religious freedom as a US foreign policy priority and mandates that the President call out religious freedom violators as a reflection of the importance our nation places on America’s first freedom.
“As my colleague stated, the levels of violence and atrocities committed against Christians in Nigeria are appalling, particularly in the Middle Belt. These attacks directly target Christian populations.
“Ample witness testimonies have confirmed attackers used religious language during their attacks and specifically targeted Christians for killing, abduction and rape. It is clear Nigerians are being attacked and killed because of their faith, and the Nigerian government must uphold its duty to protect them.
“But the United States listened, and we will continue to listen and act until the Nigerian government protects religious freedom, strengthens its protections for vulnerable Christians and upholds and holds perpetrators accountable.”
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