RELEASE: HILL, SUOZZI LEAD LETTER BACKING CPC DESIGNATION FOR NIGERIA AMID RISING VIOLENCE
WASHINGTON, D.C.,
November 19, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representatives French Hill (R-AR) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) led a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio praising the Trump administration's decision to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) due to severe and deteriorating religious freedom condition. Rep. Hill said, "For too long, Nigeria's government has failed to protect its own people—both Christians and Muslims—from horrific religious violence. Thousands have been killed, communities destroyed, and the persecution continues unabated. This CPC designation is necessary and long overdue. I thank President Trump for taking this critical step, and I hope it will finally compel Nigeria's leaders to take meaningful action to protect religious freedom and hold perpetrators accountable."Rep. Suozzi said, “Religious freedom is a fundamental human right. The ongoing, widespread, and escalating violence in Nigeria, and the government’s failure to act, is unacceptable. Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern is a necessary step to demand accountability and protect people of all faiths.” Background: In 2019, the U.S. Department of State placed Nigeria on the Special Watch List before elevating it to CPC status in 2020. Religious communities across Nigeria continue to face attacks with alarming frequency. This past June, armed attackers killed more than 200 people at a Catholic mission in Benue State that was sheltering displaced individuals. Two months later in Katsina State, at least 27 worshippers were killed when militants attacked a mosque during dawn prayers. These ongoing assaults on people of faith are deepening divisions and denying Nigerians their fundamental right to worship freely. A "Country of Particular Concern" is a label given by the U.S. Secretary of State to nations engaged in severe violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). Federal law requires the State Department to review religious freedom conditions around the world each year and identify countries that have "engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom. These severe violations include systematic and ongoing abuses like torture, inhumane treatment, imprisonment without charges, kidnappings, secret detentions, and other serious threats to people's lives and safety based on their faith. Rep. Hill and Rep. Suozzi have long been staunch advocates for better religious freedom conditions in Nigeria. |
