An Alliance Defending Freedom petition is calling on the White House to immediately reverse its decision to remove Nigeria from its persecution watchlist, which they stressed “turned a blind eye to the killing of Christians in Nigeria” and led to the worsening of persecution.
In November 2021, to the frustration and confusion of many, the Biden administration chose to remove Nigeria from its Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) list, despite the continuously deteriorating state of religious freedom in the African country.
“Nigeria, where more Christians are killed than anywhere else on the face of the planet, American leaders have suddenly decided to turn their backs and walk away,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins stated last year.
The ADF and Revelation Media petition, which has now garnered 34,000 signatures, was delivered to the White House on Friday, ahead of the State Department’s yearly release of CPC designations. The petition stressed that action must be taken:
Removing Nigeria from the CPC list has led to the emboldening of Islamic terrorists, radical militants, and other extremists who kill, torture, and abduct Christians, as well as Muslims who reject extremism. Adding Nigeria back to the CPC list will send a powerful message that the religious persecution taking place in Nigeria is unacceptable…
Demonstrating how the violence against Christians has worsened, the petition provides sobering numbers:
In the months of January 2021 to March 2022, over 6,000 Christians have been martyred in Nigeria, facing death by being shot, hacked to pieces, and burned alive. According to Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List on the global persecution of Christians, “4,650 Christians were killed in Nigeria between November 2020 and October 2021, higher than 3,530 deaths recorded in the previous year.”
Christians are also facing increased rates of being abducted, with “2,500 Christians . . . abducted between November 2020 and October 2021 as against 900 abducted in the previous year.” The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) cites an even higher rate of abductions, finding that no fewer than 3,800 Christians were abducted in Nigeria in 2021 alone. If the persecution was intense enough for Nigeria in 2020 to be placed on the CPC list then, it makes no sense to leave them off the list now, as the situation has only grown worse.
The petition then urged the Biden Administration to take quick action:
The killings must stop. The torture must stop. The least we can do as Americans is take a stand by acknowledging the very real evil taking place in Nigeria at this time. We cannot condone this violence by turning a blind eye any longer. We the undersigned petition President Joe Biden and his administration to add Nigeria back to the CPC list immediately.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated in June why the Trump Administration made the decision to place Nigeria on the CPC list in 2020.
“We did this because the Nigerian government was tolerating the systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of the religious freedom of its people, and it was allowing them to suffer at the hands of radical Islamic terror,” Pompeo explained. “This designation signaled to the Nigerian government that swift action on their part was needed to put an end to this persecution or else sanctions and further diplomatic pressure would follow… America must not ignore that religious freedom is essential to the strength of the free world.”
“Unfortunately, the tragedy persists and the Biden Administration is doing little to demand the Nigerian government take action,” he lamented. “Last November, the Administration removed Nigeria from the Countries of Particular Concern list. Given the rising persecution of Christians and the staggering number killed every year, this is a confusing decision.”
“Apparently, this Administration refuses to see Christians as victims, no matter where they are in the world,” Pompeo wrote. “This skewed view leads to policy decisions that have resulted in rapidly increasing tragedy. The Nigerian government will not deal with this problem until costs are imposed for not doing so — the United States has the means to impose these costs and should do so immediately.”
As Pompeo suggested, is the Biden Administration’s apathy regarding the genocide of Christians in Nigeria, rooted in their opposition to Christianity as a whole?
“Throughout the world for the last 2,000 years, societies have been trying to cancel Christians and even blot out God if that were possible. There is nothing new under the sun,” Stand Up For The Truth host David Fiorazo, wrote in his eye-opening book, Cancelling Christianity.
“The Left,” he explained, “has been relentless in this commitment to destroy the church…”
Regarding the persecution of Christians abroad, the silence from Democrat politicians and media has been deafening, Fiorazo highlighted.
“The persecution of believers in Christ is at record highs around the world, and it is tragic the American media refuses to report on this injustice. Christians have been slaughtered in many nations almost nonstop, and it seems only Christian organizations and a handful of nonprofits are helping with humanitarian efforts,” Fiorazo further wrote in Canceling Christianity.
In contrast, “the liberal media, politicians, and world leaders took turns condemning the 2019 mosque attacks in New Zealand and denouncing the violence—And rightly so.”
The difference between that event and the ongoing slaughter of Believers in Nigeria and other countries, Fiorazo observed, is that “Christians are the victims.”
Kelsey Zorzi, Director of Advocacy for Global Religious Freedom for ADF International, implored the White House to take the issue of Christian persecution in Nigeria seriously.
“The high level of support for this petition makes clear that there is a strong consensus for significant action to counter the religious freedom violations happening in Nigeria,” he described. “More Christians are being killed in Nigeria for their faith than in all other countries combined, and the U.S. government should do everything within its power to support ending the persecution…”
