A senior official leading the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, Jonathan Prat says Trump administration is developing a plan to incentivize and compel the Nigerian government to better protect Christian communities and improve religious freedom,
He disclosed that to the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday.
He said the plan will consider U.S. State and Treasury engagement on sanctions, as well as possible Department of War engagement on counterterrorism, and other efforts to protect religious communities.”
According to him, Washington was primarily looking at security provided to the Nigerian government and how it is deploying assets, as well as the sharing of information and intelligence.
In October, Trump added Nigeria back to a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations that the U.S. says have violated religious freedom. He has also said he asked the Defense Department to prepare for possible “fast” military action in Nigeria if it fails to crack down on the killing of Christians. He added that he was immediately stopping all aid and assistance to Nigeria,
Nigeria, which has 200 ethnic groups practicing Christianity, Islam and traditional religions, has a long history of peaceful coexistence. But there have also been flare-ups of violence among groups, often exacerbated by ethnic divisions or conflict over scarce resources
The Pentagon
The extremist Islamist armed group Boko Haram has also terrorized northeastern Nigeria, an insurgency that has killed thousands of people over the past 15 years.
A Nigerian delegation is set to meet with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and officials at the Pentagon, which Trump has renamed the Department of War, while in town this week, Pratt said.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu dispatched the national security adviser to Washington to meet Trump administration officials and U.S. lawmakers. The Nigerian delegation, which arrived on Wednesday, also includes the defense chief, chief of defense intelligence and head of police.
Pratt on Thursday said he does not believe the government of Nigeria has been infiltrated by jihadists.Jacob McGeehe State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, said the designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern was an important step that had captured the attention of that country’s government, but that a lot more needed to be done.
“We are planning engagement on the ground, both through our embassies there and other trips, to make sure Nigerians hear our very important message that they have to do better,” McGee said.
