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U.S. Lawmakers Propose Sanctions On 12 Nigerian Governors Over Religious Freedom Concerns
A major diplomatic row is brewing between Nigeria and the United States as the US Congress considers a bill seeking to impose sanctions on 12 northern governors, traditional rulers, and senior judges accused of complicity in what American lawmakers describe as “Christian genocide” and religious persecution under Nigeria’s Sharia and blasphemy laws.
The development follows US President, Donald Trump’s, recent decision to redesignate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)” for alleged systemic violations of religious freedom.
In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump lamented what he called the “mass killing of Christians” in Nigeria and directed Congressman Riley Moore, Chairman Tom Cole, and the House Appropriations Committee to investigate and report back to him immediately.
“Thousands of Christians are being killed in Nigeria. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. America cannot fold its hands while these atrocities continue,” Trump said.
At the heart of the controversy is a bill titled the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, sponsored by Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
The bill formally designates Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern and seeks direct sanctions against public officials and religious authorities accused of promoting or tolerating attacks on Christians and other religious minorities.
Under the proposal, the US Secretary of State would, within 90 days of the bill’s passage, submit a list of Nigerian officials, including governors, judges, and monarchs, who have “promoted, enacted, or maintained blasphemy laws” or “tolerated violence by non-state actors invoking religious justification.”
Those named could face penalties under Executive Order 13818, the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability framework, including visa bans, asset freezes, and financial restrictions.
Northern States In Focus
The bill targets states where Sharia-based penal codes have been enacted, beginning with Zamfara State under then-Governor Ahmad Sani Yerima in 1999.
Within two years, 11 other northern states, Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kebbi, Yobe, Kaduna, Niger, and Gombe, adopted similar Sharia legal frameworks.
The system expanded Sharia’s jurisdiction from personal and family law to criminal and public morality, creating parallel Islamic courts alongside secular ones.
In contrast, states like Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, and Adamawa still operate under conventional law, restricting Sharia to personal matters such as marriage, inheritance, and family disputes.
Tensions flared recently when the Supreme Council for Sharia announced plans to set up offices in Oyo and Ogun States, both in southern Nigeria.
The announcement triggered public uproar and clashes between Muslim and Christian groups before the council clarified that the move was to establish arbitration panels for Muslim-related disputes, not formal Sharia courts.
While defending the bill before the Senate, Senator Cruz accused Nigerian authorities of turning a blind eye to religious violence and institutionalising discriminatory laws.
He said, “Religious persecution and violence against Christians and other minorities in Nigeria is endemic.
“Since 2009, over 52,000 Christians have been murdered, 20,000 churches and faith institutions destroyed, and dozens of villages wiped out. The federal and state governments have failed to act, and in many cases, they are complicit.”
The senator alleged that the implementation of Sharia law since 2000 had emboldened extremist groups and legalised persecution under the guise of religious morality.
The proposed US legislation also criticises Nigeria’s blasphemy provisions, which exist in nearly all northern legal codes.
States such as Kano, Bauchi, Sokoto, and Katsina have drawn global attention for issuing death sentences over alleged blasphemy, including cases involving minors and musicians accused of “insulting Islam.”
News
How 2018 Federal Legal Advice Exonerated Saraki In Offa Robbery Case
In light of the Kwara State Government’s fresh prosecution of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and his successor over the Offa robbery, fresh facts have emerged on why the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. E. U. (Etsu Umar) Mohammed gave the duo a clean bill of health.
The Federal Director of Public Prosecutions cleared former Senate President Bukola Saraki of involvement in the Offa bank robbery in 2018, citing no evidence of a connection.
It was gathered that the DPP reviewed a 16-page police report prepared and signed by Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police and then head of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IGP-IRT) at Force Headquarters, Abuja. The report detailed investigations into the April 5, 2018, multiple bank robbery attack in Offa, Kwara State.
The DPP in his first report dated June 22, 2018 and signed on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, prepared a five page legal advice in which he noted in paragraph 5 (f) that “for the Senate President (Saraki) and the Kwara State Governor (Ahmed), his office is unable to establish from the evidence in the interim report a nexus between the alleged offence and the suspects. Hence, it is our advice that further and thorough investigation in this regard be carried out”.
Following the submission of a second report by the police investigating team to his office on July 27, 2018, the DPP prepared a second legal advice, which was dated August 23, 2018. The three-page legal advice also has only three paragraphs.
In paragraph 3 (vi), he noted that “with regards to the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, since there is no departure from the earlier findings in the interim report, this office is still unable to establish any prima facie case against him for any offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and culpable homicide punishable with death”.
Both legal advices had recommended six people for prosecution. They are: Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Ibrahim, Salawudeen Azeez, Niyi Ogundiran, and Michael Adiukwu.
One of the suspects, Michael Adiukwu, later died in police custody, while the other five had since been tried at the High Court in Ilorin.
During the trial, the suspects revealed how they were coerced into incriminating Senator Bukola Saraki.
They mentioned several inducements dangled before them, including money and the promise of a visa to travel out of the country.
The suspects have since been convicted and their convictions confirmed by the Court of Appeal. The matter is now pending before the apex court, the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
News
₦400m Ransom Demanded As Gunmen Abduct Another Kwara Ruler
Terrorists have abducted a traditional ruler in Olayinka community, located in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba Salman Olátúnjí Aweda and are demanding a ₦400 million ransom for his release.
The abduction occurred on April 18, 2026, when armed men, suspected to be militia herdsmen, invaded the community and took the monarch, his wife, and another resident into the forest.
According to JomogNews, residents who witnessed the incident said the terrorists, numbering over 10, invaded the monarch’s residence around Saturday midnight, forced the door open, and abducted him alongside another person in the house.
The assailants reportedly led both victims into the bush.
Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government Area, Mr Abdulrasheed Femi Yusuf, visited the community on Saturday on a sympathy visit and assured residents that efforts were underway to secure the monarch’s release.
“We are deeply concerned about this incident, and we are taking swift and decisive action in collaboration with security agencies,” he said.
News
Living Faith Church Founder Declares Week Of Vengeance Against Insecurity Sponsors
Bishop David Oyedepo, General Overseer of Living Faith Church Worldwide, has declared that bandits and their sponsors will face divine judgment and retribution within seven days.
Speaking on Sunday, April 19, 2026, during a service themed “Covenant Day of Vengeance” at the church’s headquarters in Ota, Ogun State, the cleric stated that those responsible for killings and kidnappings would face imminent consequences.
“I declare judgement on those who caused these tragedies and their supporters in the name of Jesus,” he said.
The cleric further asserted that divine retribution would occur within a short timeframe.
“Unless I am not sent, this will happen in the next seven days,” he added.
Oyedepo also expressed confidence that Nigerians would soon witness outcomes of what he described as divine intervention, noting that the coming days would bring “testimonies of vengeance.”
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