The U.S. government has added
Nigeria to a “Special Watch List (SWL)” of countries that have engaged in or
tolerated “severe violations of religious freedom.”
This is coming at a time many
Nigerians and the international community have criticised the Nigerian
government for its serial violations of court orders and the shrinking civic
and media space in the country.
The inclusion of Nigeria in the
religion violations list was announced by the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike
Pompeo.
“On December 18, 2019, the
Department of State re-designated Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea,
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular
Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for having
engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, [and] egregious violations of
religious freedom.”
“The Department renewed the
placement of Comoros, Russia, and Uzbekistan on a Special Watch List (SWL) for
governments that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations of religious
freedom,” and added Cuba, Nicaragua, Nigeria, and Sudan to this list,” Mr
Pompeo said.
According to Mr Pompeo, the U.S.
also designated al-Nusra Front, al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Qa’ida,
al-Shabab, Boko Haram, the Houthis, ISIS, ISIS-Khorasan, and the Taliban as
Entities of Particular Concern.
USCIRF report
The 2018 report of the United
States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which
recommended Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC),
noted that religious freedom trended negatively in 2018.
“Religious freedom conditions in
Nigeria trended negatively in 2018. The Nigerian government at the national and
state levels continued to tolerate violence and discrimination on the basis of
religion or belief, and suppressed the freedom to manifest religion or belief.”
The report added that “religious
sectarian violence increased during the year, with Muslims and Christians
attacked based on their religious and ethnic identity”
Another case cited is the
violation of rights of Shi’a members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN).
“The Nigerian military and
government continued to violate the religious freedom and human rights of the
Shi’a members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN). IMN leader Sheikh
Ibrahim Al Zak Zaky remained in detention”.
“However, in 12 Muslim-majority
northern Nigerian states, federalism has allowed the adoption of Islamic
Shari’ah law in the criminal codes. The Nigerian constitution also establishes
the roles of customary law and Shari’ah courts for Islamic personal law,
family”.
The Nigerian government has continued to clamp down on Shiites with maximum
force since 2015. Over 300 members of the Shiite IMN were killed in December
2015 for blocking a public road.
The leader of the IMN, Ibraheem
El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenah, have been detained since then for their
alleged roles in the death of a soldier during the massacre. Nobody has been
prosecuted for the mass murder of the Shiites by Nigerian soldiers.
Dozens of Shiites demanding the
release of Mr El-Zakzaky and his wife have been killed since the 2015 incident.
The Nigerian government and the
Kaduna State government have in the past accused the Shiites of disobeying
constituted authority and not recognising the government.
The government also denied that
it was tolerating or engaging in violations of religious freedom, saying crimes
such as those occurring in the Middle-belt states of Benue and Plateau were
more economic, between herders and farmers, than religious.
The government also said it was
doing everything possible to tackle such crimes across the country.
Perhaps based on the
clarifications by the government, the U.S. did not designate Nigeria a CPC but
rather included the country in the lower level SWL.
Reactions
International human rights
lawyer, Emmanuel Ogebe, in reaction to the development, highlighted the
shortcomings of the USCIRF report saying it lacked accuracy and was not robust
enough.
“We are happy to note that
despite these shortcomings, the US government saw enough to escalate Nigeria’s
designation to the penultimate Warning Watchlist. Nigeria is the most dangerous
place in the world to be a Christian and it is high time this is recognized,”
he said.
“With the atrocities committed by
the Major Gen. Buhari in the 2019 reporting period including the elimination of
Christians from top government positions and replacement with Muslims, such as Chief Justice Onnoghen
amongst others, it is very likely that Nigeria will join the list of the global
worst persecutors by next year,” Mr Ogebe said on Friday.
The rights activist, however,
urged President Muhammadu Buhari to be fair in his treatment of all Nigerians,
something the presidency has always said Mr Buhari does.
In addition, U.S. Congressman
Chris Smith welcomed the addition of Nigeria to the SWL.
Mr Smith, who had visited Nigeria
to consult with stakeholders on religious freedom, promised that “We will pay particular attention to Nigeria
and the deteriorating situation under the government of President Muhammadu
Buhari in the year ahead.”
He added, “President Buhari must
address the murderous attacks conducted by Fulani extremists on Christians in
the Middle Belt and the oppression of Shia Muslims in Kaduna State.”
Congressman Smith stayed further,
“I also call upon the State Department to monitor the actions of Miyetti Allah
with regard to its complicity in attacks by Fulani extremists.”
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