[ADDRESS]

The Honorable [REPRESENTATIVE'S FIRST NAME, LAST NAME]

 

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative [LAST NAME]:

 

APPOINT A SPECIAL ENVOY FOR NIGERIA

 

My name is [ YOUR NAME …………………… ]  a U.S. citizen originally from Nigerian. I live within your constituent at [ YOUR ADDRESS …………………. ]  I am asking that you help take action to protect religious freedom in Nigeria by adding your voice in Congress to urge the U.S. Department of State to appoint a Special Envoy to Nigeria. 

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Recently, Deborah Samuel Yakubu, a 200-level student at Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto in northern Nigeria was murdered on her university campus. The murdered woman, Deborah Samuel Yakubu, was she was the leader of a women’s Christian fellowship group on campus. Debora’s crime was asking students not to post religious messages to a group the group Whatsapp. A rumor circulated that she had insulted Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. 1.

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Two videos were posted online to show Debora’s killing. In one, a half dozen men beat Deborah’s lifeless body with sticks while they shout “Allahu Akbar” (God is great). A second video shows her body burning while her killers boast about killing her. 2.

 

In the past six years, the world has witnessed two clear cases of genocidal atrocities. The first, which occurred in Syria and Iraq, was perpetrated by Daesh against religious minorities such as the Yazidis and Christians. The second took place in Myanmar, and was perpetrated by the Burmese military against the Rohingya Muslims and other religious minorities.1 The report stated that an evolving mass atrocities as a result of nationwide armed vigilantes of Fulani Herdsmen in Nigeria is neglected.4.

 

A combination of Boko Haram, ISIS-West Africa, Fulani Militants, and other extremist groups have been responsible for the murders of more than 96,000 Christians in almost 21,000 separate attacks.3 Recent reporting from the UNDP puts the direct and indirect death toll from the twelve-year conflict at more than 350,000 people, including an estimated 300,000 children. 5.

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Baroness Cox of the United Kingdom House of Lords wrote after he visited four villages that had been destroyed by Fulani: “I stood in the rubble of the Pastor's home where he had been slaughtered, and I saw the huge numbers of Fulani cattle roaming through the destroyed villages. There are concerns that the Fulani militants are now so well armed that they are possibly fighting a proxy war for Boko Haram, with the shared agenda of driving Christians out of their homelands."6

 

I am asking that you and your colleagues in Congress urge support President Joe Biden and the State Department to appoint a Special Envoy to Nigeria for a fact-finding mission to Nigeria to determine the truth and help stop the continued bloodbath of innocent Nigerians.

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I look forward to hearing from you about these concerns.

 

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

 

1. Christian Student Lynched by Mob in Northern Nigeria-https://csi-usa.org/christian-student-lynched-by-mob-in-northern-nigeria/

2. Christian Student Lynched by Mob in Northern Nigeria-https://csi-usa.org/christian-student-lynched-by-mob-in-northern-nigeria/ The next day, she was killed. Christian Student Lynched by Mob in Northern Nigeria: https://csi-usa.org/christian-student-lynched-by-mob-in-northern-nigeria/

3. Says Huriwa: By Human Rights Writers Association Of Nigeria (HURIWA) https://www.thenigerianvoice.com/news/290391/setting-up-of-nationwide-armed-vigilantes-by-fulani-herdsmen.html

4. See Nigeria: Over the past 20 years, 100,000 Christians have been killed: https://christianpersecution.com/nigeria/nigeria-over-the-past-20-years-100000-christians-have-been-killed/

5. Genocide Emergency: Nigeria: https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/genocide-emergency-nigeria

6. Fulani Herders follow on from Boko Haram - Humanitarian .... https://www.hart-uk.org/news/fulani-herders-follow-boko-haram/