US House Passes Measure Requiring Nigeria Aid Certification on Anti-Christian Violence, Sends Bill to Senate

The US House of Representatives approved a measure that would require the Secretary of State to certify Nigeria is making progress in tackling anti-Christian violence before any US economic or security assistance can be released, Semafor reported. The provision, part of the annual State Department appropriations bill, tightens an earlier version that would have withheld only half the funding and could result in a complete freeze on assistance.

It now heads to the Senate.

Republican Congressman Greg Steube introduced the amendment. He stated that releasing even partial assistance would amount to “rewarding” Nigeria despite persistent insecurity. “If the aid conditions included in the bill are important enough to withhold half of all the funding to the Nigerian government, then they are important enough to withhold all of the funding,” Steube said.

Senator Ted Cruz, chairman of the Africa subcommittee, applauded the amendment. ” The vote came days after Frank Garcia, the US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, made Nigeria the first stop on his debut official trip to Africa. Garcia described the visit as “successful” after meetings with security chiefs and senior government officials in Abuja.

Abuja has repeatedly denied that Christians are being targeted more than other communities in Nigeria’s overlapping security crises. It hired the lobbying firm DCI Group to push its message in Washington. Cruz dismissed the efforts, saying Nigerian officials waged a public relations campaign against critics.