U.S. Imposes Visa Ban On Sponsors, Supporters Of Religious Violence In Nigeria

The United States has imposed visa restrictions on individuals said to be linked to the persecution and killing of Christians in Nigeria.

In a press statement on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Donald Trump administration activated a new policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, empowering the State Department to deny visas to individuals found to have directed, authorised, supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom.

The policy also allows, where necessary, for the visa restrictions to be extended to the immediate family members of those implicated, a move U.S. officials say is aimed at strengthening accountability for those linked to attacks on Christian communities and other faith-based violence.

It specifically targets radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani ethnic militias, and other violent actors accused of participating in mass killings and coordinated assaults on Christians in Nigeria and other parts of the world.

“The United States is taking decisive action in response to the mass killings and violence against Christians carried out by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani militias, and other violent groups in Nigeria and beyond,” Rubio stated.

He added that President Trump had made it clear that “the United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries,” stressing that the visa ban would apply to Nigeria and any other government or individuals found culpable of serious violations of religious freedom.

The visa restriction policy follows months of diplomatic and legislative pressure on Nigeria over persistent attacks on Christian communities, particularly in the Middle Belt and northern regions.

On October 31, President Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act, a move that placed the country under scrutiny for alleged systemic violations of religious freedom.

The CPC designation triggered reactions from the Nigerian government, which dismissed the classification and argued that the nation’s security challenges were rooted in terrorism, banditry and criminal violence rather than religious persecution.

The visa ban announcement also followed a high-level briefing held on Tuesday by U.S. House Republicans, where rising religious violence in Nigeria was the central focus.

The session was convened at the direct instruction of President Trump, who had earlier directed the House Appropriations Committee to investigate what he described as the “slaughter of Christians” in Nigeria.

The briefing was led by the Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Committee and Chairman of its National Security Subcommittee, Mario Díaz-Balart, with participation from members of the House Appropriations and Foreign Affairs Committees, alongside leading religious freedom experts.

Those in attendance included Representatives Robert Aderholt, Riley Moore, Brian Mast, and Chris Smith, as well as Vicky Hartzler, Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; Sean Nelson of Alliance Defending Freedom International; and Nigeria-born policy scholar Dr Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Earlier, on November 20, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa had opened a public hearing to review Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a CPC.

Lawmakers at the hearing examined potential consequences of the listing, including possible sanctions against Nigerian officials found complicit in religious persecution.