ABUJA, Nigeria — The United States will restrict visas for Nigerians and their family members responsible for mass killings and violence against Christians, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday.
“The United States is taking decisive action in response to the mass killings and violence against Christians by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani ethnic militias, and other violent actors in Nigeria and beyond,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement posted on social platform X.
The secretary added that the policy would apply to other governments or individuals engaged in violations of religious freedom.
The restrictions are in line with a new policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, he said.
Attacks in Nigeria have varying motives. There are religiously motivated ones targeting both Christians and Muslims, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, communal rivalries, secessionist groups and ethnic clashes.
A 2023 report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law said at least 100,000 Christians and 60,000 Muslims had been killed since 2009, when the present round of fighting began.
Nigeria’s population of about 220 million people is split almost equally between Christians and Muslims.
Muslims and Christians can be found in every province of Nigeria. However, the north is predominantly Muslim and the south is primarily Christian. President Bola Tinubu, a southern Muslim and former governor of the multiethnic Lagos state, has assembled a Cabinet that is much more religiously diverse than that of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, a northern Muslim and former general.
The West African country has long faced insecurity from various fronts, including the Boko Haram extremist group, which seeks to establish its radical interpretation of Islamic law and has also targeted Muslims it deems not Muslim enough.
Also, there has been an uptick in the activities of armed gangs in the central part of the country who kidnap locals for ransom.
Last month, President Trump said he has ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria following the claims of Christian persecution in Nigeria.
