The Americans have now removed Nigeria from the list that supposedly contains countries that violate religious freedoms worldwide.
Nigeria no longer finds itself on a list of countries that limit religious freedoms as announced by the United States government. Following a statement made by Anthony Blinken, United States Secretary of State on Wednesday about countries that limit religious freedoms around the world. The new list no longer has Nigeria on it, in contrast to the announcement made in December 2020 that had Nigeria as one of the countries that were violating religious freedoms around the world.
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In his statement addressing religious freedoms this year, Blinken said:
“Each year the Secretary of State has the responsibility to identify governments and non-state actors, who, because of their religious freedom violations, merit designation under the International Religious Freedom Act,”
The statement further reads, “I am designating Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Eritrea, Iran, the DPRK, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
“I am also placing Algeria, Comoros, Cuba, and Nicaragua on a Special Watch List for governments that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations of religious freedom.”
“Finally, I am designating al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, and the Taliban as Entities of Particular Concern.”
