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Congressman Bill Huizinga of the United States has voiced concerns about the Nigerian government’s alleged lack of sincerity in dealing with the country’s continued attacks on Christian communities.

Abuja’s official response to the problem, according to the congressman, was dismissive.

In an exclusive interview with Arise Television, Huizinga stated that there were indications of coordinated and targeted attacks in Nigeria’s pattern of violence against Christians.

Comparing the current state of affairs to previous international failures in Rwanda and South Sudan, he pointed out that the US must move quickly to stop another widespread catastrophe in Africa.

The Congressman said he had personally spoken with survivors and religious leaders who felt targeted in repeated attacks on their homes and communities.

In addition to outlining specific actions to lessen the escalating wave of violence, he called on the Nigerian government to adopt more robust measures to protect its citizens.

Huizinga called on the government to take swift action to stop more violence and emphasized Nigeria’s strategic significance to the stability and economic future of West Africa.

He said: “I’m glad that we’re able to do this. This is something that’s been very, very important, and as I’ve been saying to some of my colleagues, we were too late on Rwanda. We were too late on South Sudan and a number of other atrocities that have happened in Africa and other places around the world. So let’s not be too late again on this one.

“What I’m concerned about in particular is, you look at the Fulani and the radicalized Islamists, how they are attacking both moderate Muslims as well as the Christians. And I think it’s hard to deny, when you see 200 Christians slaughtered on Christmas eve a few years ago. Clearly it was a coordinated attack. And I’ve talked to people that were in the village. I’ve talked to religious leaders who have been experiencing this for years. They feel targeted.

“They know that when their homes are being entered or they’re being attacked in the middle of the night, this is not just some sort of oh, people are in conflict. They feel very much targeted. Because of that, the US response has been swift.

“So I want to get serious about it, because, again, I’m not convinced that the Nigerian government has taken the situation seriously. They need to demonstrate what they are doing to protect not just Christians, but certainly Christians, and what they are doing and proposing to lower that violence threshold.

“And you know, earlier you’re asking, have I been satisfied with the response? No, because I think their response has been “no, there’s really not a problem”.

“Well, I think there is a problem, and I’d like for them to demonstrate either very clearly why they think there is no problem, which, again, as I had said in the meeting with the Foreign Minister, that I don’t think that was adequately addressed at all, and more satisfactorily, what is their plan to deal with the violence in Nigeria, and both against Christians.

“But I think in general, much of the other, the many of the other situations that are violent, you know, and we talked earlier a little bit about the importance of Nigeria in in not just West Africa, but the whole African continent, and the economic success and potential that is there they have.”

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