A newly introduced bill in the United States Congress seeks to impose sanctions and other penalties on individuals and groups accused of violating religious freedom in Nigeria.
The bill names the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as entities recommended for sanctions.
Both groups have been accused by some Nigerians of being linked to attacks carried out by armed herders on rural communities—allegations they have repeatedly denied, insisting instead that their members, who are cattle herders, are themselves targets of violence across several states.
The bill calls on the US Department of State and the Department of the Treasury to impose visa bans, freeze assets, and introduce additional restrictions under the Global Magnitsky framework—a legal mechanism allowing the US government to sanction foreign individuals or organisations involved in corruption or human rights abuses anywhere in the world.
The legislation was introduced on Tuesday by Republican Congressman Christopher Smith. He alleged that Islamic extremist groups have carried out widespread killings, rapes, and kidnappings targeting mostly Christians and non-Fulani moderate Muslims in Nigeria.
These attacks, he said, have led to mass displacement and the destruction of places of worship, suggesting they form part of a deliberate effort to create a Fulani-dominated territory.
“Prominent Christian and Muslim leaders have been kidnapped or assassinated, including priests, pastors, and imams who advocate religious tolerance,” Smith stated.
He praised former President Donald Trump for redesignating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), citing a 2023 Vatican report that noted the destruction of more than 18,000 churches in northern Nigeria since 2009 in attacks by Boko Haram, Fulani militants, and other armed groups.
Smith also referenced an August 2024 report from the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa, which found that about 56,000 people were killed and roughly 22,000 abducted by terror groups in Nigeria between October 2019 and September 2023.
“President Trump acted appropriately and decisively to redesignate Nigeria as a CPC and hold the Nigerian government accountable for its complicity in religious persecution by radical Islamists, such as Boko Haram and Fulani terrorists,” he said.
For the bill to become law, it must be passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by President Trump.
Previously designated EPCs include Boko Haram, the Houthis, ISIS-Sahel, ISIS–West Africa, and the Taliban.
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