US Enforces Visa Restrictions Over Religious Freedom Violation In Nigeria

Published

2 months ago

April 11, 2026

The United States government has begun enforcing a policy that allows the US State Department to restrict visas for individuals responsible for violations of religious freedom in Nigeria.

This was disclosed by Mark Walker, the US Principal Adviser for Global Religious Freedom, who said the policy had already been implemented.

It was reports that Walker made the disclosure in a post on X on Friday.

According to Walker, individuals involved in religious persecution will face additional scrutiny and could be barred from entering the United States.

“We have already executed on this policy, and we will continue to subject perpetrators to additional scrutiny,” Walker said.

He added that the US government remains committed to preventing individuals accused of religious persecution from entering the country.

“If you engage in persecution, you are not welcome in America. The United States is safer when we keep those responsible for religious persecution from entering our homeland,” he said.

The visa restriction policy was announced in December by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio said the restrictions would target individuals who “knowingly direct, authorise, fund, support, or carry out violations of religious freedom.”

According to him, the move formed part of the US government’s response to violence against Christians in Nigeria and other parts of the world.

The policy announcement followed a resolution introduced by Chris Smith, chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa.

Smith had recommended visa bans and asset freezes on individuals and organisations accused of severe violations of religious freedom in Nigeria.

The resolution specifically named the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as entities allegedly linked to such violations.

Earlier in February, some US lawmakers also proposed sanctions against Rabiu Kwankwaso, former governor of Kano State, accusing him of complicity in religious freedom violations.

However, Walker did not disclose the names of individuals or entities currently affected by the visa restrictions.

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Ndigbo will never move on from £20 compensation injustice — Aloy Ejimakor

Published

14 hours ago

June 13, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu, convicted leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, Aloy Ejimakor, has said Ndigbo will “never move on” from the injustices suffered after the Nigerian Civil War, particularly the confiscation of properties and the £20 compensation policy.

Ejimakor made the statement in a post on X on Saturday, where he argued that many people wrongly believe the Igbo have forgotten the humiliation and injustice experienced after the war.

“It seems to me that some people believe that Ndigbo have moved on from the humiliation & injustice of confiscating their properties & handing them a mere £20 at the end of the Civil War. Well, hear this: Ndigbo will NEVER move on until these injustices (plus more) are redressed,” he wrote.

The lawyer did not specify what additional grievances he was referring to, but his comments come amid renewed debates over historical injustices, reconciliation, and the treatment of the South-East region since the end of the Civil War in 1970.

It was reports that after the war, many Igbo people who had bank deposits before the conflict were reportedly given a flat sum of £20 regardless of the amount previously held in their accounts, a policy that has remained a subject of controversy for decades.

Ejimakor is one of the lead lawyers representing Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, who was recently convicted on terrorism-related charges brought by the Federal Government.

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News

VIDEO: Release Nnamdi Kanu or arrest Sheikh Gumi – Primate Ayodele to Nigeria Govt

Published

15 hours ago

June 13, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has called on the Federal Government to release detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.

Speaking to his congregation in a video sighted by DAILY POST, Primate Ayodele said if the Nigerian Government continues to keep Nnamdi Kanu, it should also arrest Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.

He said, “The Nigerian government should release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Since you keep Kanu in prison, why can’t you keep Sheikh Gumi in prison too?

“You keep Nnamdi Kanu but Gumi is free. Then, how do you want to now manage the government.

“If Nnamdi Kanu is there, then go and take Gumi. Then Nigerians will believe that the government is serious. Protest will seize this Tinubu government,” he warned.

SEE THE VIDEO

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News

UN Secretary-General appoints Nigeria’s Eziakonwa as Special Adviser on Africa

Published

15 hours ago

June 13, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres on Friday announced the appointment of Ahunna Eziakonwa of Nigeria as Special Adviser on Africa.

She succeeds Cristina Duarte of the Republic of Cabo Verde, to whom the Secretary General is grateful for her commitment and dedicated service to the Organisation.

Eziakonwa brings nearly three decades of United Nations (UN) leadership to her new role.

In her current role as UN Assistant Secretary General, Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), she oversees the organisation’s support to 46 African countries in pursuing Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Since 2018, she has helped shape UNDP’s strategic approach to economic and political development across the continent.

Eziakonwa’s experience spans the full breadth of UN work in Africa.

She has served as UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in three countries – Ethiopia, Uganda and Lesotho – where she coordinated humanitarian action, development strategy and political engagement.

As Chief of the Africa Section at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in New York, she managed humanitarian operations across 15 African countries and held senior posts in Liberia and Sierra Leone during critical periods in those nations.

At UN Headquarters, she contributed to peacekeeping and political analysis and strategic communications pertaining to UN engagement in Africa, working with the UN Departments of Peacekeeping Operations, Political Affairs and Public Information.

Prior to joining the UN, she held positions in several African civil society organisations.

Eziakonwa holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs with a focus on African economic and political development from Columbia University, New York, USA, and a Bachelor of Arts in Pedagogy, English and Literary Studies from the University of Benin, Nigeria.

In addition to her native Igbo and English, she speaks fluent Yoruba and has a working knowledge of French.

NAN

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