US lawmakers push bill on visa ban, asset freeze on Kwankwaso, MACBAN over religious persecution

Five United States lawmakers have introduced a bill seeking visa restrictions and asset freezes on former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore over alleged severe violations of religious freedom, including the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has reacted with shock, dismissing as baseless any suggestion that its national leader is linked to religious fundamentalism, and describing the move as a contrived action against an innocent man.

The proposed legislation, titled the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 (H.R. 7457), was introduced by Representatives Riley Moore (R-WV), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Brian Mast, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Bill Huizenga. It mandates the Secretary of State to submit periodic assessments to Congress on Nigeria’s compliance with international religious freedom obligations and actions taken to protect religious minorities.

If passed, the bill would trigger consideration of targeted sanctions, humanitarian assistance, and security cooperation frameworks aimed at ending impunity for perpetrators of religious violence. It specifically calls on the Departments of State and Treasury to impose Global Magnitsky sanctions—including visa bans and asset freezes—on individuals or entities responsible for severe violations, or report to Congress why such sanctions have not been applied.

Lawmakers cited estimates that between 50,000 and 125,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria between 2009 and 2025, with over 19,000 churches destroyed.

They referenced attacks in Yelwata, the Christmas Eve massacres of 2023 and 2024, and Holy Week and Easter attacks in 2024 and 2025, which they said left more than 9,500 people—mostly Christians—dead and over half a million displaced.

According to Open Doors’ 2026 Watch List, Nigeria accounts for 72 per cent of Christians killed worldwide.

The bill also highlights cases such as those of Rhoda Jatau and Deborah Yakubu, who suffered mob violence, imprisonment, or death over alleged blasphemy, with perpetrators rarely punished.

The lawmakers commended President Donald Trump for redesignating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), and noted that future U.S.–Nigeria relations would depend on the Nigerian government’s response to the alleged atrocities.

Under the bill, the Secretary of State would also assess whether certain Fulani ethnic militias in Nigeria should be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organisations. The legislation further proposes U.S. humanitarian assistance—co-funded by the Nigerian government—delivered through trusted civil society and faith-based groups in the Middle Belt, and calls for collaboration with France, Hungary, and the United Kingdom to promote religious freedom.

In a separate provision, the bill seeks to counteract Chinese mining operations in Nigeria, which lawmakers identified as a primary revenue source for violent extremism, citing the widespread payment of “protection money” to insurgent groups.

The End the Genocide Against Nigerian Christians Coalition, convened by Save Nigeria Group U.S.A., has issued a statement strongly supporting H.R. 7457. The coalition expressed gratitude to Moore and Smith for their leadership, and commended the Trump administration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom for redesignating Nigeria as a CPC.

The coalition urged all members of Congress to support the legislation in a unified, bipartisan manner, stating: “Religious freedom is a fundamental human right that transcends party affiliation.”

Signatories to the statement include Judd Saul, Founder and Executive Director of Equipping the Persecuted (Iowa); Dede Laugesen, President and CEO of Save the Persecuted Christians (Colorado); Mike Arnold, Founder of Africa Arise (Texas); and Dr G. Ukwuani of the African Christian Fellowship, Washington, DC, Advocacy Group.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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