Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Beyond the CPC Designation

In late October, President Donald Trump announced that he was designating Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern, or CPC, in recognition of the horrific and worsening rash of religious violence that Africa’s most populous country has faced in recent years. In fact, USCIRF has recommended Nigeria’s CPC designation every year since 2009, highlighting the dangers of violent extremist groups, tensions between ethnic Fulani herder communities and Christian and Muslim farmers, mass abductions of schoolchildren that have become shockingly commonplace, and other escalating threats. 

In this episode of USCIRF Spotlight, Supervisory Policy Analyst Kurt Werthmuller interviews Commissioners Maureen Ferguson and Mohamed Elsanousi to consider Nigeria’s designation as a CPC, the global and Nigerian response to that designation, and the road ahead for addressing the country’s ongoing religious freedom crisis.