US Imposes Visa Restrictions on Perpetrators of Religious Persecution, with Nigeria in Focus
Washington, DC – The United States has announced new visa restrictions targeting individuals and officials who direct or carry out attacks on religious minorities, with particular attention paid to the ongoing violence against Christians in Nigeria.
In a statement posted on social media on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that the State Department will deny U.S. visas to those who “knowingly direct, authorize, fund, support, or carry out violations of religious freedom”. The policy applies globally but explicitly includes Nigeria among the countries where such measures may be enforced.
“The United States is taking decisive action in response to the atrocities and violence against Christians in Nigeria and around the world,” Mr Rubio wrote on X (formerly Twitter). He added that the restrictions will affect “Nigeria and other governments or individuals that persecute people for their religious beliefs”.
The move marks one of the first major foreign-policy announcements from the incoming Trump administration’s State Department and signals a tougher stance on religious persecution, an issue that featured prominently during President Trump’s first term.
Nigeria has experienced years of deadly attacks on Christian communities, particularly in the northern and central regions, where militant Islamist groups such as Boko Haram and armed “Fulani herdsmen” have been accused of targeted killings, abductions, and the destruction of churches and villages. Human-rights organisations have documented thousands of deaths and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in recent years.
Although the Nigerian government has repeatedly condemned the violence and insisted it is not targeting any religious group, critics – including members of the U.S. Congress and international watchdogs – have accused successive administrations in Abuja of failing to hold perpetrators accountable or of turning a blind eye in some instances.
The new U.S. visa policy builds on existing tools under the International Religious Freedom Act and echoes measures used in previous years against officials in China, Myanmar, and other countries accused of religious repression.
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