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The United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa has approved a move allowing President Donald Trump to impose strict sanctions on Nigeria in response to the widespread killing of Christians in the country.

The decision followed a congressional hearing on Wednesday, during which lawmakers condemned the Nigerian government for failing to protect Christian communities from escalating violence.

The subcommittee referenced a 2024 report by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, which stated that Nigerians account for 90 percent of all Christians killed worldwide each year. According to the report, between October 2019 and September 2023, 55,910 people were killed, while 21,000 others were abducted by terrorist groups in the region.

During the hearing, Committee Chairman Chris Smith highlighted the severity of the crisis, citing testimony from Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Diocese of Makurdi, Nigeria. Smith described the attacks by militant Fulani herdsmen as acts of terrorism and accused Nigerian authorities of granting them impunity.

“Militant Fulani herdsmen are terrorists. They steal and vandalize, they kill and boast about it, they kidnap and rape, and they enjoy total impunity from elected officials. None of them have been arrested or brought to justice,” Smith said.

The subcommittee’s report labeled the violence as “religious cleansing” and called for accountability. Lawmakers also criticized the Nigerian government for failing to uphold constitutional protections for religious freedom and accused it of using blasphemy laws to target Christian minorities.

“The Nigerian government has made little progress in addressing the persecution of Christians, even though religious freedom is enshrined as a fundamental human right in its Constitution,” the report stated.

Smith also blamed the administration of former President Joe Biden for removing Nigeria from the U.S. Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list, a designation originally placed during Trump’s first term. He noted that despite four consecutive years of recommendations from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (2021-2024), the Biden administration did not reinstate Nigeria’s CPC status.

“Under President Biden, Nigeria was removed from the CPC list, despite overwhelming evidence that religious persecution had worsened,” Smith said.

He urged President Trump to take immediate action, including reinstating Nigeria’s CPC status and engaging directly with President Bola Tinubu to ensure better protection for Christian communities.

“I fully expect President Trump to redesignate Nigeria as a CPC and take additional steps to support the persecuted church,” he added.

Smith also called on the Trump administration and the U.S. Senate to be prepared to impose sanctions on Nigeria if the violence persists.

“This hearing should serve as a catalyst for action—not just within Congress but also within the Executive Branch,” he said.

“The new president has a responsibility to act, and I believe he will. If necessary, sanctions must be imposed. When they have been used in the past, they have brought change. Where there are no consequences, the killing fields remain.”

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has issued a ruling halting the reinstatement of Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II as the Emir of Kano.

A three-member panel, led by Justice Okon Abang, on Friday, suspended the enforcement of the January 10 judgment that had vacated the nullification of Sanusi II’s appointment. The lower court had previously ruled that the Kano State High Court acted without jurisdiction in nullifying Sanusi’s appointment.

The appellate court, in its ruling on fresh applications CA/KN/27M/2025 and CA/KN/28M/2025, agreed that suspending the enforcement of the judgment pending an appeal at the Supreme Court was legally sound. Justice Abang emphasized the need to preserve the subject matter, noting that Sanusi had served as emir for five years before his removal and was entitled to protection.

On January 10, Justice Gabriel Kolawole had set aside the nullification of Sanusi II’s appointment, ruling that the case, being a chieftaincy dispute, fell under the jurisdiction of the Kano State High Court rather than the Federal High Court. Justice Abubakar Liman of the Federal High Court in Kano had previously nullified the Kano State Government’s Emirates Council (Repeal) Law 2024, which reinstated Sanusi II as the 16th Emir.

The appellate court held that the matter was a chieftaincy and state legislative dispute, not a fundamental rights issue. It cited Section 251 of the Nigerian Constitution and Section 22(2) of the Federal High Court Act, affirming that the case should have been heard by the Kano State High Court or the FCT High Court.

The court ordered the transfer of the suit to the Kano State High Court for reassignment to a judge who had not previously handled the matter. It also awarded a cost of N500,000 against the applicant, Aminu Baba-Dan’Agundi, in favor of the Kano State House of Assembly.

However, following the opinions of Justices Mohammed Mustapha and Abdul Dogo that the suit should be struck out rather than transferred, the case was ultimately dismissed.

More than 500 shops and stalls were destroyed in a fire that engulfed the popular Aleshinloye Market in Ibadan, Oyo State, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed on Thursday.

The fire, which broke out around 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday in the Ibadan South West Local Government Area, caused extensive damage, with goods worth hundreds of millions of naira lost.

The South-West Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Kadiri Olanrewaju, revealed in an assessment report that many traders had recently restocked their goods, worsening their financial losses.

“No fatalities were recorded, but several individuals sustained minor injuries from smoke inhalation and shock while attempting to salvage their goods,” Olanrewaju stated.

Eyewitnesses reported that the fire started in the Plastic Merchants section of the market before spreading rapidly due to the flammable nature of the stored materials.

Emergency response teams, including the Oyo State Fire Service, private fire units from SWEETCO and SUMAL, market security personnel, and local volunteers, battled to contain the blaze.

However, firefighting efforts were hindered by the lack of a functional fire truck at the market’s fire station and an inadequate water supply. Despite these challenges, responders managed to prevent the fire from spreading to other sections of the market.

Oyo State Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal, visited the market to assess the damage and assured affected traders of immediate relief support through the State Emergency Management Agency and NEMA.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire and are considering measures to prevent future occurrences.

NEMA has recommended several steps, including:

– Strengthening fire safety measures within the market.
– Equipping market fire stations with functional fire trucks and adequate water supply.
– Conducting regular fire drills and safety training for traders.
– Enhancing emergency response infrastructure.
– Establishing a well-equipped emergency response unit within the market.
– Strengthening partnerships between the Federal and State Governments and private organizations to – improve disaster response.
– The state government has pledged to provide emergency relief packages to help affected traders recover from their losses.

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for a reassessment of the country’s political system, arguing that “Western liberal democracy” is failing Nigeria.

In his newly released book, Nigeria: Past and Future, unveiled during his 88th birthday celebrations last week, Obasanjo criticized past and present leaders, describing many as “ill-prepared, satanic, and self-centered.”

He accused them of using public office for personal enrichment while leaving the country in worse conditions.

“How do you explain the situation of a governor who owed billions before election, yet within two years in office, without running any business, he cleared all his debts?” Obasanjo wrote.

He alleged that state resources were being misappropriated, with a fraction distributed among associates to prevent whistleblowing.

Obasanjo also took aim at the administration of President Bola Tinubu, describing its policies as corrupt and wasteful.

He specifically condemned the N15.6 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, calling it an “example of misplaced priorities and corruption.”

“Typical examples of waste and corruption include the murky Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, on which the President has turned deaf ears to protests,” he stated.

He further criticized the construction of a new Vice President’s residence at a reported cost of N21 billion, calling it an unnecessary expenditure in a time of economic hardship.

The former president argued that Nigeria must move away from Western liberal democracy and develop a system better suited to its governance needs.

He proposed an alternative model, which he termed Afrodemocracy, emphasizing that Africa should adopt a political framework that aligns with its history and culture.

“If the West, where liberal democracy originated, complains about its flaws, then we should be wise enough to introspect and develop a system that works for Africa,” Obasanjo wrote.

His remarks have sparked debate over the country’s governance structure, as calls for political and economic reforms continue to grow.