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We senator ted cruz is leading a controversial effort to designate Nigeria As a violator of religious freedom, making unfounded claims”Christian “Mass murder” – claims the West African nation has vehemently rejected as lies.
A republican Mr. Cruz is pushing on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Nigeria Labeled a “country of particular concern” due to alleged “serious violations” of religious freedom.
This designation, which currently applies to nations such as Pakistan, afghanistanAnd ChinaCould lead to US sanctions.
A bill introduced by the senator last month is awaiting action in the Senate, although its final approval is not guaranteed.
Mr Cruz’s claims have been promoted by some American celebrities and commentators, often without solid evidence, with some figures even alleging “Christian genocide”.
His office has not responded to questions, including questions about his motivation for the allegations.
Here’s what to know.
both Christian and Muslims are killed
NigeriaThe 220 million strong population is almost equally divided Christians And MuslimsThe country has faced insecurity on various fronts for a long time boko haram Extremist group that seeks to establish its own radical interpretation of Islamic law and has also targeted Muslims It is considered not Muslim enough.
attacks in Nigeria There are different purposes. Religiously motivated people are targeting both Christians And MuslimsClashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, communal rivalry, separatist groups and ethnic clashes.
Whereas Christians Analysts say most of those targeted are victims of armed groups Muslims Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north is where most attacks occur.
Both Muslim and Christian communities and groups have at times alleged “genocide” during religiously motivated attacks against both sides.
Such attacks often occur in conflict zones in the north-central and north-western regions, in addition to other forms of violenceWith farmer-herder conflict, which is mainly between farming communities Christians – And Fulani herders who are mainly Muslims,
Joseph Hayab, former president of the Christian Union of Nigeria Kaduna The state, worst affected by insecurity, is one of the disputed claims of “Christian genocide”.
while thousands Christians As for those who have died in the past few years, “things have become better than before,” Hayab said, however, warning that every single death is deplorable.
The Nigerian government rejected Cruz’s claims, which are controversial among Nigerians.
“There has been no systematic, deliberate effort by the Nigerian government or any serious group to target any particular religion,” Information Minister Idris Muhammad said. The Associated Press.
Nigeria was placed on the US list of countries of special concern for the first time in 2020 state Department It has been called a “systematic violation of religious freedom.”
The designation did not highlight attacks on Christians. This designation was removed in 2023, which was seen by observers as a way to improve relations between the countries before the then Secretary of State. Antony BlinkenVisit to.
Responding to the latest claims by US commentators, the Christian Association of Nigeria said it has worked for years to draw attention to the “persecution of Christians in Nigeria”.
In its 2024 report, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom highlighted attacks targeting both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, which it called systematic religious freedom violations.
,violence “A large number of Christians and Muslims are affected in many states of Nigeria,” the commission said.
what does the data say
data US-based armed conflicts collected by location and event data The program shows 20,409 deaths in 11,862 attacks against civilians in Nigeria between January 2020 and this September.
Of those, 385 attacks were “targeted incidents against Christians (…) where the Christian identity of the victim was a perceived factor,” resulting in 317 deaths, ACLED says.
During the same period, 417 deaths of Muslims were recorded in 196 attacks.
While religion has been a factor in Nigeria’s security crisis, due to its “large population and vast geographic differences it is impossible to say that religious violence drives all violence,” said senior Lad Serwat. Africa Analyst at ACLED.
Analysts reject genocide claims
Analysts say Nigeria’s complex security dynamics do not meet the legal definition of genocide.
The UN Convention on the Prevention of Genocide states that it is “committed with intent to destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, in whole or in part.”
“If anything, what we are seeing are mass killings that are not targeted against any specific group,” said Olajumoke Ayandele, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago. New York UniversityCenter for global affairs specializing in conflict studies.
“Bumping the drum of genocide could make the situation worse because everyone will be on alert.”
Chidi Odinkalu, a professor at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and former chairman of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission, said Nigerian authorities, however, need to pay attention to the violence on a larger scale.