Since the Congressional Values Action Team caucus met with Catholic Bishop Chipa Wilfred Anagbe and the Rev. Remigius Ihyula, House Resolution 82 garnered support.
The meeting allowed Anagbe and Ihyula to share their stories of the horrors committed against Christians in Nigeria by Islamic extremists.
The resolution, introduced by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), calls for the Biden administration to consider Nigeria a “country of particular concern for grossly violating religious freedoms and appoint a special envoy for Nigeria and the Lake Chad region.”
A report from Open Doors International estimates that 90% of the 5,621 Christians killed worldwide were Nigerian.
Mainstream media reports that the acts of violence are due to farming conflicts from climate change.
“Stop saying that it’s a farmer-herder clash. And stop saying that it’s a poverty issue … and stop saying it’s a climate change issue,” said President of the International Organization for Peace Building and Social Justice Richard Ikiebe.
Similarly, a State Department report denies that attacks against Nigerians stem from religious persecution.
In its “2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Nigeria,” the State Department wrote, “While much of the violence involved predominantly Muslim herders and, depending on location, either predominantly Christian or Muslim farmers … banditry and other criminality, not animosity between particular religious groups or on the basis of religion, were the primary drivers of intercommunal violence.”
Reporting from The Daily Signal:
In response to the atrocities, a bipartisan group of 14 members of Congress have co-sponsored House Resolution 82, which seeks to redress the administration’s cover-up. “It is imperative that the State Department take action by adding Nigeria as a [country of particular concern] and make clear that the U.S. government condemns the continued egregious actions in Nigeria,” said Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., a co-sponsor of the resolution. The resolution echoes the cries of Anagbe that we cannot remain silent while Nigerian civilians are being killed in large numbers for their faith.
