Nigeria must remain Country of Particular Concern, US lawmaker insists

A US congressman has insisted that Nigeria must keep its Country of Particular Concern designation, as a State Department official admitted that violence in the country has not stopped.

A US lawmaker has insisted that Nigeria must retain its Country of Particular Concern (CPC) designation, as a senior State Department official admitted that violence in the country has not stopped, Daily Post reports.

Congressman Riley Moore spoke on Thursday at a congressional hearing on violence in Nigeria, while questioning Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia.

“Before you answer that, we cannot take this CPC designation off of this country. They have not done enough,” Moore said.

Garcia said Nigeria was taking steps to address concerns, but its security capacity was still developing and deployments were not happening fast enough.

“Unfortunately, the violence has not stopped,” he added, citing continued attacks in Kaduna and Plateau states.

He said the US had provided police training and equipment, expanded intelligence sharing and helped disrupt terrorist financing.

The Nigerian government has consistently rejected claims of a “Christian genocide”, maintaining that insecurity affects Nigerians of all faiths.