The United States has removed Nigeria from its list of religious violators.
US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, made this known in a statement on Wednesday.
This was contained in a statement on Wednesday titled, ‘Religious Freedom Designations’.
The US had in 2020 placed Nigeria and six other countries on its special watch list of states that had engaged in or tolerated the severe violation of religious freedom.
However, Nigeria was missing from the list of countries designated in the 2021 list for religious violations.
This announcement comes ahead of Blinken’s visit to Nigeria.
He added that the American government had blacklisted Russia, China and eight others as Countries of “Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated ‘systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
“The United States will not waiver in its commitment to advocate for freedom of religion or belief for all and in every country. In far too many places around the world, we continue to see governments harass, arrest, threaten, jail, and kill individuals simply for seeking to live their lives in accordance with their beliefs.”
