A new bill introduced in the United States Congress has called for targeted sanctions and restrictive measures against individuals and groups accused of serious violations of religious freedom in Nigeria.
The legislation specifically identified the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as entities allegedly linked to religious persecution and related abuses.
Sponsored by Representative Chris Smith, the bill seeks to impose sanctions on members of the listed groups, including visa restrictions and asset freezes, in response to what it describes as systematic attacks on religious communities.
Smith, who presented the bill on Tuesday, praised former U.S. President Donald Trump for re-designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under U.S. religious freedom laws.
“President Donald J. Trump acted appropriately and decisively to redesignate Nigeria as a CPC and hold the Nigerian government accountable for its complicity in religious persecution by radical Islamists, such as Boko Haram and Fulani terrorists,” Smith said.
The bill also noted that the “Fulani Ethnic Militias” operating in Benue and Plateau States have been placed on the Entities of Particular Concern (EPC) list under the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act.
Under U.S. law, EPCs refer to non-state actors accused of committing particularly severe violations of religious freedom, including killings, abductions, and destruction of places of worship.
Smith’s proposal further urged the U.S. government to directly channel humanitarian assistance to faith-based organizations aiding internally displaced persons in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.
The legislation also recommended that U.S. foreign aid, including funding provided through global health and development programs, be conditioned on tangible progress in protecting religious freedom and prosecuting perpetrators of violence.
It called for the creation of long-term strategies to foster peace and stability, urging the Nigerian government to take swift and effective actions to:
- End religious persecution;
- Prosecute those responsible for violence;
- Support displaced communities; and
- Uphold constitutional guarantees of religious liberty.
On the same day Smith introduced the bill, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz announced his backing for efforts to hold Nigerian officials accountable for what he described as “genocidal violence” against Christians.
Cruz is leading the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, a complementary bill that seeks to ensure greater protection for Christians and other religious minorities across the country.
The legislative push follows Trump’s recent warnings of potential U.S. military action if Nigerian authorities fail to address the reported persecution of Christians.
Trump had said earlier that the United States would “not stand by while such atrocities are happening,” adding that the killing of Christians by radical Islamists in Nigeria constituted a “mass slaughter.”
