Religious freedom violence: why we blacklisted Nigeria, by U.S

Our ReporterTHE United States of America (U.S.A) has given its reasons for blacklisting Nigeria for alleged violations of religious freedom.It said this was the result of widening terrorism with little or no government response.U.S Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Samuel Brownback, said Nigeria had been tolerating egregious acts taking place in that nation.TheCable had reported how the U.S designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern after years of placing Nigeria under a watch list for allegedly enabling violations of religious rights.This came after the U.S initially expressed concerns over the high rate of religious intolerance in various parts of Nigeria, following acts often perpetrated by state actors.But the Federal Government rejected the tag, arguing that it protects religious freedom jealously.Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday, Brownback said the U.S was seeing a lot of religious-tinged violence taking place.He added: The Secretary and, really, the world, has great concern about whats taking place in Nigeria at this time. A number of terrorist groups are organising and pushing into the country.Read Also:United States, Iran and the rest of the worldWere seeing a lot of religious-tinged violence taking place in that country and indeed in West Africa. Its an area of growing concern about whats happening, in particular the tension thats taking place there between religious groups. And its often the religious affiliation that is used to try to recruit and inspire violent acts.The ambassador added that a major concern for the U.S regarding Nigeria is the lack of adequate government response in Nigeria.Youve got expanded terrorist activities, youve got a lot of them associated around religious affiliations. The governments response has been minimal to not happening at all, Brownback said.A number of casesthere have not been criminal cases brought forward by the government. The terrorism continues to happen and grow, in some places unabated, he said.
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