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Floor Speech
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Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, if you watch television, you are hearing a lot of reports from Nigeria about kidnappings and murders, other reports of violence, and particularly you are hearing it about Christians in Nigeria.
This violence has grown more frequent and more troubling as time goes on. The enforcement of blasphemy laws by the Nigerian Government coupled with the rise of violent attacks by terrorists against religious communities represents a serious infringement upon the freedom of religion that you are supposed to have in that country.
Blasphemy laws are enforced in 12 Nigerian states and also at the Federal level. That enforcement is resulting in the prosecution and imprisonment of Christians, Muslims, traditional practitioners, and even humanists. Furthermore, violence by terrorists like Boko Haram and the other organization called the Islamic State West Africa Province continues to pose serious security challenges.
Unfortunately, these challenges are not new developments. For years, we have been hearing from our own government Agencies, particularly the FBI and the Department of Justice, urging our own State Department to designate the terrorist group Boko Haram as a foreign terrorist organization, a step that was delayed until 2013.
For my part, I have consistently sought information and action to address this ongoing threat. Going way back almost 10 years in 2016, I sent a letter to then-U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch requesting information regarding the yearslong process of designating the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram as a foreign terrorist organization.
In 2020, I wrote to then-Secretary Pompeo and Ambassador Sam Brownback asking what steps were being taken to protect Christians in Nigeria and whether a Special Envoy might be appointed.
At that time, the Department assured me that they were actively addressing the issue at multiple levels with the Nigerian Government, but now, years later, we continue to see concerning reports about violence and religious prosecution in Nigeria.
That is why I was so very happy to see our own President Trump take long-awaited action in designating Nigeria a country of particular concern. That designation puts Nigeria on a watch list, puts Nigeria on notice that if they don't take care of this situation, other things can intervene.
The Nigerian Government must take immediate action to end this violence, and the United States should do all it can to support and encourage those efforts. Once again, I am proud to see President Trump on television, at his news conferences and things like that, speaking up for the Nigerian Government to take action and supporting the plight of Christians in Nigeria.
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