For the first time in history, the United States has placed Nigeria on a religious freedom blacklist.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” for religious freedom, alongside nations that include China, Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
Others are Eritrea, Myanmar, North Korea, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
US law requires such designations for nations that either engage in or tolerate “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.”
On Nigeria, an annual State Department report published earlier this year took note of concerns both at the federal and state levels.
It pointed to the mass detention of members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, a Shiite Muslim group that has been at loggerheads with the government for decades and was banned by a court.
The State Department report highlighted the arrests of Muslims for eating in public in Kano state during Ramadan, when Muslims are supposed to fast during daylight hours.
It also took note of the approval of a bill in Kaduna state to regulate religious preaching.
Under US law, nations on the blacklist must make improvements or face sanctions.
