House of reps condemns US bill alleging genocide against Christians in Nigeria

House of reps condemns US bill alleging genocide against Christians in Nigeria

The residence of Representatives has strongly condemned a consignment proposed via usa lawmakers that seeks to hold Nigerian officials chargeable for allegedly “facilitating the mass murder of Christians.”

throughout Wednesday’s plenary session, the lower chamber exceeded a resolution rejecting the allegations, stressing that there is no nation-subsidized persecution of Christians in Nigeria. The motion was once sponsored by way of Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu alongside 359 lawmakers.

The bill in question, titled the “Nigeria non secular Freedom duty Act of 2025,” was once brought via U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. It requires targeted sanctions towards Nigerian government officials accused of implementing Sharia and blasphemy legal guidelines, urges the U.S. Secretary of kingdom to designate Nigeria as a “united states of america of particular difficulty,” and keeps that Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa ought to stay listed as entities of specific challenge.

The proposed legislation follows routine worldwide claims that Nigerian Christians face systematic persecution, a narrative the Nigerian authorities has continuously rejected.

transferring the movement, Kalu said that whilst the U.S. commission on worldwide spiritual Freedom (USCIRF) recently endorsed Nigeria for designation as a country of issue, the claims fail to mirror the real situation. “Nigeria’s charter ensures freedom of concept, conscience, and religion,” he stated, emphasizing that “successive administrations, safety organizations, belief leaders, and civil society maintain to take measures to guard all worshippers and prosecute offenders.”

He argued that lack of confidence in Nigeria stems from complicated and multi-dimensional problems — which include insurgency, banditry, farmer-herder conflicts, separatist violence, and communal disputes — which affect citizens throughout all faiths. Kalu warned that “external legislative movements primarily based on incomplete or decontextualised tests danger undermining Nigeria’s sovereignty, misrepresenting information, straining strategic members of the family, and accidentally emboldening violent actors.”

Contributing to the talk, Majority leader Julius Ihonvbere mentioned that the U.S. bill has already passed its 2d reading in the Senate, caution that its passage could harm Nigeria’s reputation and value substantial assets to opposite. “Nigerians are facing economic, social, and security demanding situations, no longer religious persecution,” he said, describing the move as a “planned attempt to undermine Nigeria’s democratic progress.”

Oluwole Oke, Chair of the house Committee on overseas Affairs, criticized the U.S. Senate for excluding Nigerian officials and diplomatic representatives from the consignment’s public hearing, describing it as “a deliberate try to damage Nigeria’s photo.” in addition, Billy Osawaru, representing Edo state, called it a case of “international politics” and lamented that Nigeria presently lacks an ambassador to the united states who should have engaged with the yank lawmakers.

Following the controversy, the residence rejected narratives portraying Nigeria’s protection demanding situations as a spiritual warfare or as nation-subsidized persecution and reaffirmed the united states’s commitment to constitutional freedom of religion and faith.

The parliament directed the Ministry of overseas Affairs and the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C. to inn a proper criticism on the United international locations and urged U.S. legislators to reflect onconsideration on a joint Nigeria-U.S. truth-finding and talk project.

The Committee on Legislative Compliance was once tasked with ensuring the execution of the resolutions and reporting back to the residence inside 28 days.