Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has placed Nigeria on a special watch list of nations involved in or tolerated religious persecution.
YaahooJournalist reports that this was made known in a statement on Friday. December 20 by the Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.
This online news medium understands that Nigeria was added to the “Special Watch List” alongside Cuba, Nicaragua, and Sudan.
Other countries that have been on the list under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 include Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
YaahooJournalist reports that the US Department of State also renewed the placement of Comoros, Russia, and Uzbekistan on the Special Watch List (SWL).
President Trump’s administration also designated Boko Haram as an Entity of Particular Concern alongside al-Nusra Front, al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Qa’ida, al-Shabab, the Houthis, ISIS, ISIS-Khorasan and the Taliban.
The statement reads in part: “These designations underscore the United States’ commitment to protecting those who seek to exercise their freedom of religion or belief.
“We believe that everyone, everywhere, at all times, should have the right to live according to the dictates of their conscience.
“We will continue to challenge state and non-state entities that seek to infringe upon those fundamental rights and to ensure they are held to account for their actions.”
