US to impose visa bans on perpetrators of violence in Nigeria

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The United States Department of State on Wednesday announced that it is outlining new measures to address violence against Christians in Nigeria and other countries.

The policy, according to a statement released by the department, targets radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani ethnic militias, and other actors responsible for killings and attacks on religious communities.

“The United States is taking decisive action in response to the mass killings and attacks on Christians carried out by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani militias, and other violent groups in Nigeria and beyond,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement.

According to the statement, a new policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows the State Department to restrict visas for individuals who have “directed, authorised, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom,” and, when appropriate, extend those “restrictions to their immediate family members.”

It stated that, as President Donald Trump made clear, the “United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries.”

Rubio noted that the visa restrictions could be applied “to Nigeria and any other governments or individuals engaged in violations of religious freedom.”

The announcement followed a briefing by US House Republicans on Tuesday, highlighting rising religious violence in Nigeria.

The session was convened at the direction of President Donald Trump, who instructed the House Appropriations Committee on October 31 to investigate what he described as the slaughter of Christians in the country.

The briefing, led by House Appropriations Vice Chair and National Security Subcommittee Chairman Mario Díaz-Balart, included members of the House Appropriations and House Foreign Affairs Committees, as well as religious freedom experts.

Participants included Representatives Robert Aderholt, Riley Moore, Brian Mast, Chris Smith, US Commission on International Religious Freedom Chair Vicky Hartzler, Alliance Defending Freedom International’s Sean Nelson, and Dr Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations.

President Bola Tinubu recently approved Nigeria’s delegation to the new US–Nigeria Joint Working Group, formed to implement security agreements from high-level talks in Washington led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.

The move follows growing concerns over terrorism, banditry, and targeted attacks on Christians in Nigeria, prompting increased US scrutiny and warnings about the protection of vulnerable faith communities.

On November 20, the US House Subcommittee on Africa opened a public hearing to review Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, placing the country under heightened scrutiny for alleged religious-freedom violations.

Lawmakers examined the potential consequences of the designation, which could pave the way for sanctions against Nigerian officials found complicit in religious persecution.

The PUNCH journalist, Gift, has over three years of experience covering elections, security and foreign affairs.

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