- Religious communities, both Muslim and Christian, faced violence from extremist groups, including Boko Haram and ISWAP
- The Nigerian government faced criticism for inadequate responses to religiously motivated attacks
- The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urged the US to appoint a Special Envoy for Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin in response to increasing religious violence
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called on the Trump administration to appoint a Special Envoy for Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin to help address the worsening religious persecution in the region.
This was disclosed in its annual report, released in March 2025, where USCIRF recommended that the US maximise diplomatic efforts to address religious freedom violations and the risk of atrocities in the region.
USCIRF accuses Nigeria’s government of failing to address religious violence
The commission also accused the Nigerian government, under President Bola Tinubu, and state authorities of failing to effectively respond to violent attacks by nonstate actors justifying their actions on religious grounds.
These groups, including Islamist extremists and Fulani militants, targeted religious communities across Nigeria, causing significant harm. USCIRF urged the US State Department to designate Nigeria, alongside Afghanistan, India, and Vietnam, as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs).
The report further recommended redesignating 12 other countries, including Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, as CPCs.
It also proposed maintaining Algeria and Azerbaijan on the Special Watch List (SWL) and adding ten other countries, such as Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia.
USCIRF also called for the redesignation of Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) as Entities of Particular Concern (EPCs), along with six other groups: al-Shabaab, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Houthis, Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), and Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).
The commission highlighted the enforcement of blasphemy laws in Nigeria, where acts considered insulting to religion could result in up to two years imprisonment.
“The Nigerian federal government also continued to enforce blasphemy laws that include a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment for acts ‘persons consider as a public insult on their religion.”
Nigeria’s religious freedom conditions described as poor
The report also noted that several state governments enforced stricter blasphemy laws, resulting in the imprisonment of individuals for perceived religious insults.
At least five prisoners remained in state custody on blasphemy charges at the end of the year, including Mubarak Bala, Yahaya Sharif–Aminu, Isma’ila Sani Isah, Sheikh Abduljabar Nasiru Kabara, and Abdulazeez Inyass.
“Authorities charged Bala, a humanist, for ‘insulting the Prophet Muhammad’ in 2021 and sentenced him to 24 years in prison in 2022. However, in May, judicial authorities reduced the sentence to five years.
“In 2020, a court convicted Sharif-Aminu, a Sufi Muslim, for ‘insulting the religious creed’ and sentenced him to death, but a high court ordered a retrial in 2021, and he remains in prison after filing an appeal. Kabara and Inyass remain imprisoned under death sentences that courts imposed in 2022 and 2016, respectively.”
The report also mentioned heightened harassment of indigenous religious communities, with state governments in both Muslim-majority and Christian-majority areas restricting public displays of indigenous practices.
“In July, the Anambra State government demolished an indigenous shrine after the governor and Catholic bishops called on the state ‘to eliminate and banish neo-paganism and the works of darkness and evil.”
The conditions for religious freedom in Nigeria in 2024 were described as poor, with both federal and state governments failing to effectively respond to violent actions by nonstate actors, including Boko Haram, ISWAP, and bandit groups, who justified their violence on religious grounds.
Incidents of religious violence in Nigeria
The report highlighted several specific incidents of religious violence, including killings and kidnappings by militant groups targeting religious communities.
“In January, suspected members of the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (JAS) insurgent group killed 14 people in Yobe State, including a local pastor from the Church of Christ in Nigeria. In May, al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansaru gunmen reportedly kidnapped 160 mainly Christian children and killed eight people in Niger State before later releasing the children.
“Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) assailants also reportedly executed three Christians and shared images of the executions online. In November, the Lakurawa group — seeking to impose their interpretation of Shari’a law — allegedly killed 15 people in Kebbi State.
“In May, bandits killed at least 49 people in Zamfara State, including a Muslim imam, and in Niger State, suspected bandits killed 10 farmers, including Christians. In August, bandits reportedly killed 70 Christians and kidnapped 20 students in separate attacks in Benue State.”
USCIRF criticised the Nigerian government’s response to the violence, stating that security forces "sometimes remained slow to respond to violence by these groups, resulting in injury or death for members of targeted religious minority communities."
The report estimated that around 30,000 Fulani bandits operated in groups across northwest Nigeria, with many targeting Christian communities through violent raids and extortion.
Lakurawa, Boko Haram, 3 other terrorist groups operating in Nigeria
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that Lakurawa, a terrorist group, was quickly emerging as a significant security threat in northern Nigeria.
Bulama Bukarti, a senior fellow at the Tony Blair Institute, warned of the growing threat and ideological ties of the group. TheRadar compiled other terrorist groups that have surfaced in the country.