State Department’s Skewed Reports Enabling Nigerian Violence: Rights Advocates

The terrorist attack on a Catholic church service in Owo, NIgeria, has led to criticism of the U.S State Department for downplaying the violence being aimed at Christians in the country. AFP via Getty Images

After the worst massacre of Catholic faithful in Nigeria’s history on June 5, rights advocates have rebuked the U.S. Department of State’s flawed conclusions in its annual religious freedom report for 2021.

“Instead of tongues of fire—bombs and firearms descended on worshippers in southwestern Ondo state [June 5] in a Pentecost Day massacre,” said government critic Emmanuel Ogebe, Special Council for Justice for Jos advocacy group based in the United States.