Olushola Omogbehin
Following Trump’s earlier directive to Congressman Riley Moore and House Appropriations Committee Chairman, Tom Cole, to investigate alleged killings of Christians in Nigeria, a new bill seeking to impose visa restrictions and asset freezes on members of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, has been introduced before the United States Congress.
The proposed law, presented on Tuesday by Congressman Christopher Smith, focused individuals and groups alleged to be “responsible for or complicit in severe violations of religious freedom” under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).
Smith praised US President Donald Trump for re-designating Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ (CPC), citing “ongoing reports of attacks on Christian communities” in parts of Benue and Plateau States.
“This bill seeks to hold accountable those who enable or commit grave abuses against religious minorities,” Smith said, adding that the US must not remain silent in the face of “systematic persecution and violence.”
According to the legislation, the group of persons and groups listed are: “Fulani-Ethnic Militias” operating in central Nigeria among Entities of Particular Concern (EPCs), a category reserved for non-state actors accused of serious violations of religious liberty. Other EPCs under the same US designation include Boko Haram, ISIS-West Africa, ISIS-Sahel, the Taliban, and the Houthis.
If passed, the bill would empower US authorities to impose visa bans and freeze financial assets of individuals and organisations linked to the named entities.
