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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7457 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7457
To require a comprehensive report on United States efforts to address
religious persecution and mass atrocities in Nigeria.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 10, 2026
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Moore of West Virginia, Mr.
Mast, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr. Huizenga, and Mr. Cole) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require a comprehensive report on United States efforts to address
religious persecution and mass atrocities in Nigeria.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Nigeria Religious Freedom and
Accountability Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Systemic religious persecution has persisted in Nigeria
since at least 2009, including mass murder, kidnappings, rape,
village destruction, and forced displacement of persons,
perpetrated by Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa
Province (ISWAP), Fulani militant groups, and other extremist
organizations.
(2) Estimates indicate that between 50,000 to 125,000
Christians have been martyred between 2009 and 2025, with more
than 19,000 Christian churches attacked or destroyed.
(3) Fulani-ethnic militias in Nigeria--including networks
of armed groups engaged in organized attacks on civilian
communities--have carried out repeated acts of violence that
meet the statutory definition of terrorist activity under
section 212(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)).
(4) These militias have conducted attacks involving
targeted killings, hostage-taking, hijackings, armed assaults,
massacres of civilians, destruction of property, and forced
displacement of local population.
(5) Between May 2023 and May 2025, Fulani-ethnic militias
carried out major massacres in Benue and Plateau States--
including attacks in Umogidi, Mgban, Yelwata, the Christmas Eve
massacres of 2023 and 2024, and the Holy Week and Easter
attacks of 2024 and 2025--killing more than 9,500 people,
mostly Christians, and displacing over half a million others.
(6) The acts carried out by these militias are intended to
intimidate, coerce, and displace civilian populations, disrupt
local governance, and assert control over territory--actions
that meet the criteria for designation as a Foreign Terrorist
Organization (FTO) under section 219 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189).
(7) The expansion of these militias undermines United
States national security and foreign policy interests,
destabilizes a strategically important region, jeopardizes
religious freedom rights, and exacerbates the threat
environment facing West Africa.
(8) Nigerian Christian clergy and imams who have advocated
for tolerance have been kidnapped, tortured, or murdered, with
more than 250 religious leaders attacked or killed in the past
decade, including Father Sylvester Okechukwu in 2025.
(9) Christian leaders such as Father Remigius Iyhula and
Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, who testified before Congress in March
2025 and November 2025, have faced intimidation and harassment
as a direct result of their testimony regarding the sustained
persecution they face.
(10) Nigeria accounts for 72 percent of all Christians
martyred worldwide, according to Open Doors' 2026 Watch List.
(11) Approximately 3.5 to 5 million Nigerians are
internally displaced, and more than 343,000 remain refugees in
the Lake Chad region.
(12) It remains unclear whether any of the limited
investigations into these violent attacks have led to
prosecutions or convictions of jihadists.
(13) Defending oneself from an attack can also lead to a
death sentence like in the case of Sunday Jackson, a Christian
farmer from Adamawa State, who was sentenced to death in 2021
for the killing of an armed Fulani herder, despite credible
evidence that Mr. Jackson acted in self-defense after being
violently attacked while working on his farmland.
(14) In a show of good faith from the Nigerian Government,
Jackson was pardoned in December 2025 after spending a decade
in prison.
(15) Nigeria retains and enforces blasphemy laws carrying
the death penalty in 12 northern states under Sharia criminal
law; such laws have been used to target Christians, Muslims,
and dissenters.
(16) Victims, such as Christians Rhoda Jatau and Deborah
Yakubu, have suffered mob violence, imprisonment, or death for
alleged blasphemy, while known perpetrators frequently face no
punishment.
(17) Sufi musician Yahaya Sharif-Aminu has been detained
for 6 years in Kano State on blasphemy charges and faces the
death penalty related to peaceful song lyrics; he is appealing
his case to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
(18) The Nigerian Government routinely denies that
religious persecution exists and has failed to adequately
intervene, including on early warning notifications of upcoming
attacks, including the October 14, 2025, Plateau State
massacre.
(19) The United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended Nigeria's
designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) every year
since 2009.
(20) In 2020 and again in October 2025, President Donald J.
Trump designated Nigeria a CPC pursuant to the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.).
(21) The prior administration's removal of Nigeria from the
CPC list in 2021 coincided with a marked escalation in
religiously motivated violence.
(22) Designating Nigeria as a CPC enhances diplomatic
tools--including sanctions--to pressure the Nigerian Government
to halt religious persecution, prosecute perpetrators, and
protect vulnerable communities.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) President Donald Trump acted justly by designating
Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, in alignment with
the recommendations provided by the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and pursuant to the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401 et
seq.);
(2) the Government of Nigeria has historically failed to
adequately respond to or prevent religiously motivated violence
and continues to tolerate impunity by extremist actors, in part
by denying the religious nature of such extremism;
(3) the United States should use all available diplomatic,
humanitarian, economic, and security tools to pressure the
Government of Nigeria to--
(A) end impunity for perpetrators of mass
atrocities and religious persecution;
(B) protect Christian communities, clergy, and
other targeted religious minorities;
(C) enable the safe and voluntary return of
internally displaced persons to their homelands,
prioritizing persecuted Christian communities; and
(D) ensure freedom of religion is protected by
every level of government and that the proper legal
channels ensure this right remains wholly intact,
including the repeal of blasphemy laws and release
prisoners detained for their faith;
(4) United States Government engagement has encouraged the
Nigerian Government to take positive steps towards addressing
these threats by extremist groups and are encouraged to engage
in a bilateral agreement to protect these vulnerable
communities, eliminate jihadist terror activities, further
economic cooperation, and counter mutual adversaries in the
region;
(5) there is bipartisan congressional support to consider
appropriate security cooperation with Nigeria, including
conditioning of foreign assistance as was done in the Fiscal
Year 2026 National Security, Department of State, and Related
Programs Appropriations Bill signed into law by President Trump
as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, to
enhance efforts to protect innocent lives;
(6) the United States should deliver humanitarian
assistance, co-funded by the Government of Nigeria, through
trusted civil society organizations, including faith-based
organizations, in Nigeria's middle belt states;
(7) the Department of State and the Department of the
Treasury should impose targeted sanctions, including visa bans
and asset freezes under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights
Accountability Act, on individuals or entities responsible for
severe religious freedom violations, or report to Congress the
reasons such sanctions have not been imposed, including--
(A) Fulani-ethnic nomad militias in Nigeria;
(B) Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former Kano State
Governor;
(C) Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of
Nigeria (MACBAN); and
(D) Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore;
(8) the Secretary of State should determine whether certain
Fulani-ethnic militias in Nigeria qualify as a foreign
terrorist organization under section 219 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189);
(9) individuals and networks--domestic or foreign--that
provide support to these Fulani-ethnic militias should be
investigated and held accountable;
(10) the Secretary of State should consider technical
support to the Government of Nigeria to reduce and then
eliminate violence from armed Fulani militias, including
disarmament programs and comprehensive counter-terrorism
cooperation to rid the region of Foreign Terrorist
Organizations that pose a direct threat to the American
homeland;
(11) the Secretary of State should work with the Government
of Nigeria to counteract the hostile foreign exploitation of
Chinese illegal mining operations and their destabilizing
practice of paying protection money to Fulani militias;
(12) the Nigerian Government should thoroughly investigate
instances of penalties or imprisonment under blasphemy laws or
Sharia law and work to end these practices and repeal such
laws;
(13) the United States stands in solidarity with Christians
and all persecuted religious minorities in Nigeria in their
right to practice their faith without fear of violence,
persecution, or death, and a future goodwill relationship
between the United States and Nigeria hinges upon the Nigerian
Government's response moving forward to adequately address the
atrocities described in this Act;
(14) the Department of State is encouraged to enlist the
support of international partners, including France, Hungary,
and the United Kingdom, to work with the Government of Nigeria
to promote religious freedom and peace; and
(15) the Government of Nigeria can play a key stabilizing
role in the Sahel region and across the continent and is poised
to deepen and strengthen their relationship with the United
States if they will work with us to combat the persecution of
Christians in Nigeria.
SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the enactment of this
Act, and annually thereafter until Nigeria is no longer designated as a
Country of Particular Concern pursuant to the International Religious
Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) and in accordance with the
recommendations provided by the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), the Secretary of State shall
submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, and
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a comprehensive report on
United States efforts to address religious persecution and mass
atrocities in Nigeria.
(b) Elements.--Each report required by subsection (a) shall include
the following:
(1) An assessment of Nigeria's compliance with the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, including specific
actions taken, or not taken, by the Government of Nigeria to
prevent persecution, prosecute perpetrators, repeal blasphemy
laws, protect vulnerable communities, and facilitate the safe
return of internally displaced persons.
(2) Identification of all individuals and entities
sanctioned, or under consideration for sanctions, under the
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act or the
Entities of Particular Concern list.
(3) A description of co-investments and collaborative
efforts between the Government of Nigeria and the United States
to provide and deliver humanitarian assistance to Christians
displaced by the attacks from Fulani-ethnic militias, through
faith-based or nongovernmental partners, including amounts,
recipients, type of assistance provided, and measurable
outcomes.
(4) An evaluation and description of historical, ongoing,
and planned United States security assistance to Nigeria, and a
comprehensive assessment of whether such assistance risks
enabling or exacerbating religious persecution.
(5) Whether the Government of Nigeria is taking appropriate
steps to cease enforcement of and repeal blasphemy laws, and to
investigate instances of non-Muslims, Muslims, and dissenters
being subjected to Sharia law or blasphemy laws.
(6) An assessment of conditions of internally displaced
persons, including safety, humanitarian needs, and prospects
for return.
(7) Recommendations for further executive actions or
congressional authority determined to be necessary and most
helpful to halt the religious persecution and mass atrocities
occurring in Nigeria.
(8) An evaluation of any steps taken by the Government of
Nigeria during the reporting period to address religious
persecution, dismantle extremist networks, prosecute attackers,
reform security forces, or improve protection for at-risk
communities.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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