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Representative Smith urges stronger U.S. action on violence in Nigeria
Summary
Representative Smith thanked Secretary Waltz for leadership on Nigeria and urged the U.S. to press the Nigerian government to take concrete steps that could remove a CPC designation; Secretary Waltz said U.S. and U.N. engagement is prompting greater cooperation but that churches and clergy remain under attack.
Representative Smith opened by thanking Secretary Waltz for his leadership on Nigeria and urged tougher action to protect civilians. Smith said U.S. engagement matters because people on the ground “are being slaughtered, including the Christians,” and named armed actors including Boko Haram, ISIS West Africa and Fulani groups.
Smith urged the Nigerian government to demonstrate measurable progress on violence and human-rights protections so it could be removed from the U.S. “CPC designation,” saying, “Nigeria is one of those cases where if the government gets serious, and I mean really serious, they can come off the CPC designation, but do so by meriting it.” He yielded the floor after laying out those concerns.
Secretary Waltz replied that the United States and the U.N. have pressured Nigeria and that international attention has prompted more cooperation on counterterrorism and security capacity. “Make no mistake, churches are being burned, pastors are being executed, people are being arrested literally for just wearing a cross around their neck,” Waltz said, adding the administration is treating persecution claims with urgency.
The transcript records a back-and-forth of statements and concerns but does not record any formal vote or binding action on the CPC designation in this excerpt.
