This bill seeks to address systemic religious persecution and mass atrocities in Nigeria, which have persisted since at least 2009. It highlights extensive violence, including mass murder, kidnappings, and displacement, perpetrated by groups like Boko Haram, ISWAP, and Fulani militant groups, resulting in tens of thousands of Christian deaths and attacks on churches. The bill notes that Fulani-ethnic militias' actions meet the statutory definition of terrorist activity, with major massacres killing thousands, mostly Christians, and displacing over half a million people.

Congress finds that the Nigerian government routinely denies religious persecution and has failed to adequately intervene, tolerating impunity for extremist actors. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has consistently recommended Nigeria's designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), a status that enhances diplomatic tools like sanctions. The bill emphasizes that the prior administration's removal of Nigeria from the CPC list coincided with a marked escalation in religiously motivated violence, underscoring the need for continued pressure.

The Sense of Congress urges the United States to utilize all available diplomatic, humanitarian, economic, and security tools to pressure the Nigerian government to end impunity, protect targeted minorities, and ensure religious freedom by repealing blasphemy laws. It specifically calls for imposing targeted sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for severe religious freedom violations, such as specific Fulani-ethnic militias, and for the Secretary of State to determine if these militias qualify as a foreign terrorist organization. To ensure accountability, the bill mandates that the Secretary of State submit a comprehensive report to Congress annually, starting 90 days after enactment, until Nigeria is no longer designated as a CPC. This report must detail Nigeria's compliance with religious freedom laws, identify sanctioned entities, describe humanitarian aid efforts, and evaluate U.S. security assistance to prevent exacerbating persecution, alongside assessing blasphemy law enforcement, IDP conditions, and recommending further actions to halt atrocities.