The United States (US) has said that it would impose visa restrictions on Nigerians accused of undermining religious freedom, stepping up pressure on the Nigerian government as Nigeria battles a wave of terrorist attacks and growing international scrutiny.

In a post on X on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said the restrictions target those who “knowingly direct, authorize, fund, support, or carry out violations of religious freedom.” The policy applies broadly to individuals or entities in Nigeria accused of persecuting people for their religious beliefs.

The United States is taking decisive action in response to the atrocities and violence against Christians in Nigeria and around the world. The @StateDept will restrict U.S. visas for those who knowingly direct, authorize, fund, support, or carry out violations of religious…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) December 3, 2025

The move comes amid heightened congressional scrutiny of Nigeria’s security crisis. Last month, US President Donald Trump publicly labeled Nigeria a “disgraced country,” warning of possible American military intervention if the Nigerian government failed to act against alleged attacks on Christians.

On Tuesday, US lawmakers convened a roundtable in Washington, bringing together religious freedom advocates and foreign policy experts to examine what they called the “targeted persecution” of Christians in Nigeria. The session forms part of wider investigations ordered by Trump.

Last month, during a hearing on religious freedom in Nigeria, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Chris Smith, introduced a resolution urging visa bans and asset freezes against individuals and groups implicated in what he described as severe religious freedom violations. His recommendation named the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as offending entities.

Smith also proposed designating “Fulani-Ethnic Militias” operating in Benue and Plateau as entities of particular concern (EPC) under the US International Religious Freedom Act. During Tuesday’s roundtable, he accused the Nigerian government of “complicity” in the alleged persecution.

Also speaking at the roundtable, a Douglas Dillon senior fellow for Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Ebenezer Obadare, said the US should pressure Nigeria to make the Sharia law — practised in at least 12 states in Northern Nigeria — unconstitutional. Some of those states have used the Sharia law to sentence people to death for blasphemy — a practice that has faced pushback from the US.

The threat of visa restrictions also comes at a time of a dramatic uptick in kidnappings targeting schools and religious centres. On November 21, 2025, gunmen stormed St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, abducting 303 students and 12 teachers in what is now one of Nigeria’s largest mass-kidnapping incidents on record.

Although 50 of the kidnapped students later escaped and were reunited with their families, over 250 children remain in captivity — along with 12 staff members — prompting calls from rights groups and religious leaders alike for urgent action.

Just days earlier, 38 worshippers were taken from the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Oke Isegun, in Eruku town, Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, during a worship session. They have since regained their freedom under opaque circumstances.

Rubio said the threatened visa restrictions underscore the US commitment to “decisive action” against violators of religious freedom worldwide, including those identified in Nigeria. The Nigerian government is yet to officially respond to the announcement.