The United States has removed Nigeria from its list of religious violators while blacklisting Russia, China and eight other countries “as Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated ‘systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday titled, ‘Religious Freedom Designations’.
The US in 2020 placed Nigeria and six other countries on its special watch list of states that had engaged in or tolerated the severe violation of religious freedom, Nigeria was missing from the list of countries designated in the 2021.
Blinken, who is currently in the East African nation of Kenya on an official visit, is scheduled to visit Nigeria this week and meet with President Muhammadu Buhari, and other members of his cabinet.
The US Secretary of State, in his statement on Wednesday, said, “The United States will not waiver in its commitment to advocate for freedom of religion or belief for all and in every country.
