The United States congress will hear allegations of Christian persecution in Nigeria on Thursday following President Donald Trump’s re-designation of the African nation as a country of particular concern (CPC).
The hearing will be chaired by Chris Smith, chairman of the
house foreign affairs Africa sub-committee.
Smith, who has been one of several US lawmakers pushing the
allegations, had introduced a resolution naming the Miyetti Allah Cattle
Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as
erring entities.
Sanctions recommended on members of the groups included visa
bans and asset freezes.
The resolution also asked that the US place “Fulani-Ethnic
Militias” operating in Benue and Plateau states on the entities of particular
concern (EPC) list under the International Religious Freedom Act.
Thursday’s congressional hearing will examine the “ongoing
religious persecution of Christians by radical Islamists”, the wide-reaching
implications of Trump’s re-designation of Nigeria as a CPC, and the course of
action the US State Department should follow in response to the “Nigerian
government’s complicity in these crimes”, Smith’s office said.
A partial list of witnesses on the first panel include
Jonathan Pratt, senior bureau official, bureau of African Affairs, State
Department; and Jacob McGee, deputy assistant secretary, bureau of democracy,
human rights, and labour, State Department.
The second panel will comprise Nina Shea, senior fellow and
director, Centre for Religious Freedom; Wilfred Anagbe, bishop of Makurdi
diocese; and Oge Onubogu, director and senior fellow, Africa Programme, Centre
for Strategic & International Studies.
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