To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of threats faced by Christian communities in Nigeria; and what assistance his Department is providing to those communities.
Answered on
27 January 2020
Increasing insecurity in Nigeria is affecting communities of all faiths. Intercommunal violence across multiple states has had a devastating impact on both Christian and Muslim communities. In North East Nigeria, Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa seek to undermine the Nigerian constitutional right to freedom of religion by deliberately attacking both Christian and Muslim communities and religious leaders.
We regularly raise our concerns about increasing levels of violence with the Nigerian Government, including most recently by the Prime Minister during his meeting with President Buhari at the UK-Africa Investment Summit on 20 January. We also engage closely with the federal government, state government, international partners and the National Economic Council to help address the root causes of intercommunal violence and to maintain the right to freedom of religion. We continue to push for solutions that meets the needs of all communities affected. Over five years (2018-2022), the UK is providing £300 million of humanitarian support to communities in North East Nigeria.