Despite the staggering death toll and ongoing threats to religious freedom, the ICC expressed concern that Nigeria was not listed among the U.S. Department of State’s Countries of Particular Concern for religious freedom violations as of the end of 2024.

The organisation questioned how countries with fewer reported violations, such as Comoros, made it to the State Department’s less severe Special Watch List, while Nigeria did not.

“Amid this stark portrait of dysfunction and injustice, the rest of the world hasn’t done much better at trying to mitigate—or even acknowledge—what has been taking place in Nigeria.

“As of the end of 2024, Nigeria did not make the U.S. Department of State’s list of Countries of Particular Concern for violating religious freedom. The State Department also assigns several other nations to the less severe designation of Special Watch List Countries. Comoros appears on this list, but Nigeria somehow does not earn a spot. Its absence from these lists is especially curious when you consider that, of the 5,000 Christians killed worldwide for their faith in 2023, more than 80% of them were Nigerian,” it added.