Members of Parliament have urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to confront Nigeria’s leader over the killing of Christians when he meets him during an upcoming visit to the United Kingdom.
Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, accompanied by his wife Oluremi Tinubu, is scheduled to be hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle on Wednesday. The visit will include a state banquet where the couple will attend as guests of honour.
The Nigerian president is also expected to travel to 10 Downing Street on Thursday for talks with the British prime minister. The trip will mark the first official state visit to the UK by a Nigerian president in 37 years.
Parliamentarians from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Freedom of Religion or Belief (APPG FoRB) have written to Development Minister Jenny Chapman, urging the government to press Mr Tinubu on the protection of human rights in Nigeria.
The call comes as Nigeria continues to rank among the most dangerous countries for Christians globally, with repeated coordinated attacks attributed to extremist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province.
Earlier this year, about 163 Christian worshippers were abducted by armed gangs in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna State. The incident was part of a wider trend of kidnappings targeting Christians in the country, where sharia law operates in 12 northern states.
Jim Shannon, a Democratic Unionist Party MP and chairman of the group, said Nigeria must “take concrete steps to prevent the harassment, persecution and killing of Christians, while ensuring that perpetrators are investigated and prosecuted”.
The cross-party group of 209 MPs and peers also expressed concern that Nigerian authorities have not responded to such attacks with sufficient urgency.
They have further called on the government to provide clarity on the case of Leah Sharibu, one of 110 schoolgirls kidnapped in 2018. She remains in captivity after refusing to renounce her Christian faith.
APPG FoRB also urged Sir Keir to ensure that human rights commitments form a central part of all future diplomatic, security and trade discussions with Nigeria.
The group has asked Baroness Chapman to respond ahead of the president’s visit.
Meanwhile, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, could also raise human rights concerns with Nigeria’s First Lady when she hosts her at Lambeth Palace on Thursday.
Mrs Tinubu, a Christian pastor whose husband is Muslim, will attend a prayer service and is expected to preach during the event.
She will also meet representatives from the Church of England and faith-based charities working in Nigeria, including Christian Aid, during a reception at Lambeth Palace.
Claims that Christians are facing genocide in Nigeria circulated last year and were followed by US airstrikes on northern Sokoto State on Christmas Day.
Donald Trump warned that further airstrikes targeting Islamist militants could follow as tensions continue over what he has described as the mass killing of Christians in armed conflicts.
Trump told the New York Times: ‘I’d love to make it a one-time strike. But if they continue to kill Christians it will be a many-time strike.’
According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, thousands of people have been killed in a single Nigerian state since the early 2000s.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Security Tracker estimates that more than 60,000 people have died across the country since 2011 due to communal clashes and insurgent violence.
Nigeria’s government has rejected Trump’s claims that it is failing to protect Christians, insisting that “Muslim, Christians and those of no faith alike” are being targeted by jihadist groups.
Nigeria, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations since 1960, has a population of more than 220 million people and is projected to reach 400 million within the coming decades.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been contacted for comment.
(DAILY MAIL)
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