US Congressman Riley M Moore has presented a report by House Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Affairs proposing solutions to the endemic violence in Nigeria, particularly where Christians are being targeted.
Last 12 months more Christians were killed in Nigeria than in all other countries world wide combined. The country’s security services have generally proved incapable of stopping an limitless tide of murders, raids and kidnappings by Islamist militia, Fulani herdsmen and bandit gangs.
The US has taken an increased interest within the country, with Donald Trump ordering airstrikes on Islamist camps within the country on Christmas Day in direct retaliation for violence against Nigeria’s Christian community.
The first suggestion in Moore’s report is to “strike a bilateral agreement between the United States and the Government of Nigeria to guard vulnerable Christian communities from violent persecution, eliminate jihadist terror activity within the region, further economic cooperation, and counter adversaries within the region, including the Chinese Communist Party and Russian Federation”.
The proposed plan suggests that Nigeria divest itself of Russian military equipment “for American military equipment through sales and financing”.
The report also recommends that the US government withhold certain funds from Nigeria if its government fails to point out sufficient commitment to ending anti-Christian violence.
The population of Nigeria is split roughly 50/50 between Christians and Muslims, and the country is currently ranked by Open Doors the seventh worst persecutor of Christians on the planet.
Last 12 months the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, declared a nationwide state of emergency and said he can be doubling the dimensions of the police force. However, Christian groups have criticised his refusal to acknowledge the sectarian nature of much of the violence.
Nigeria, the US report says, must show the “political will” and commit its own resources to ending the violence.
Reacting to the report, Mohammed Idris, Nigeria’s minister for information, said, “It is significant to state clearly that Nigeria doesn’t have, and has never had, a state policy of spiritual persecution.
“The violence being confronted by our security agencies shouldn’t be driven by government policy or religious bias, but by complex security threats, including terrorism, organised criminality, and longstanding communal tensions.”
According to the Nigerian Daily Post, Idris reiterated the Nigerian government’s willingness to work with US.
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