The Global Coalition for Freedom of Religion in Nigeria (GCFRN) has charged the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to halt plans by the National Assembly to send a delegation to the United States in response to the recent redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern(CPC) as such a mission will worsen Nigeria’s travails.
In an open letter, addressed to the two presiding officers of the National Assembly, the coalition warned that the proposed trip could expose Nigeria to “ridicule,” especially as the U.S. government already had documentary evidence of the attacks, mass murder and other discriminatory practices targeted against Christians in the country.
In the letter, signed by the leader of the coalition, Miami Iliya Sabka and others, the stakeholders, expressed deep concern that rather than conducting special investigations into the allegations and doing some inrospection to right the wrongs, the Nigerian lawmakers were embarkling on a jamboree to the United States to challenge an action which are of common knowledge to lawmakers international US , United Kingdom and Canada.
According to the coalition, the National Assembly’s move to counter these findings amounts to “attempting to deny what is already undeniable,” insisting that the U.S. Congress and other international actors are in possession of extensive reports, data and testimonies which Nigerian officials may find difficult to disprove.
“The delegation would open itself to ridicule because they would be confronted with documented facts and data which they will not be able to refute.
“The result may simply be proof to the USA and the international community that the Nigerian government, at best, is too weak to confront the situation in Nigeria and, or is even complicit,” the coalition said.
The GCFRN said the appropriate response from the National Assembly should not be an overseas public relations mission but an urgent domestic inquest into the disturbing patterns of violence, discriminatory laws and documented cases of targeted attacks on Christians and other religious minorities across the country.
It urged the NASS leadership to take decisive legislative action to address the concerns that triggered the CPC designation, cautioning that failure to act now may force foreign governments to impose measures that could have long-term diplomatic and economic implications for Nigeria.
“The National Assembly should immediately enact legislations that will outlaw all religious security or Police organisations such as the Hisbah and or the Sharia Commissions which, as in the case of Bauchi State, regularly kidnaps Christian girls below the ages of consent.
“The Federal Government should demonstrate its capacity and constitutional responsibility by reclaiming all communities and settlements illegally occupied by insurgents and restoring them to their indigenous inhabitants.
“This includes the 63 settlements in Plateau State, the 163 settlements in Kaduna State, the numerous unconfirmed settlements in Benue State, and other affected areas across the country.
“The government must ensure that terrorists are fully dislodged and pursued, and that displaced citizens are safely resettled in their ancestral homes,” they said.
The coalition reminded Akpabio and Abbas that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), in its 2025 report, once again recommended Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern — a recommendation that has surfaced repeatedly for nearly two decades.
