Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former governor of Kano State, may face visa ban and asset freezes after he was named in a proposed U.S. laws looking for to impose sanctions on Nigerian people and entities accused of violating non secular freedoms, signalling a possible escalation in diplomatic stress on Africa’s largest financial system.
The invoice, titled the Nigeria Non secular Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026, was launched on Tuesday by Congressman Riley Moore (Republican–West Virginia) and co-sponsored by Consultant Chris Smith (Republican–New Jersey).
Underneath the proposed laws, Kwankwaso may face focused sanctions, together with visa restrictions and asset freezes, pursuant to the International Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
The invoice additionally mentions Fulani-ethnic nomadic militias and organisations such because the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Affiliation of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore.
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As well as, the laws directed the US Secretary of State to evaluate whether or not sure Fulani militias met the authorized threshold for designation as International Terrorist Organisations below American legislation.
Past punitive measures, the invoice proposes expanded humanitarian help to communities affected by violence, significantly in Nigeria’s Center Belt area. It recommends that such support be collectively funded by the US and the Nigerian authorities and delivered by credible faith-based and non-governmental organisations working within the area.
Talking on the proposed laws, Moore stated the transfer builds on earlier US actions addressing considerations over non secular freedom in Nigeria. These embody Nigeria’s earlier designation as a “Nation of Specific Concern” and ongoing bilateral safety cooperation between Washington and Abuja.
The event comes amid renewed worldwide scrutiny of Nigeria’s protracted safety challenges, particularly violent clashes affecting communities within the Center Belt and components of the northern area.
Whereas US lawmakers have framed the invoice as an effort to advertise accountability and shield susceptible communities, the Nigerian authorities has constantly rejected assertions that the nation’s conflicts are solely non secular in nature. Authorities preserve that the violence is pushed by a fancy combine of things, together with criminality, land disputes, and communal tensions.
The invoice is at present on the proposal stage and would require passage by each chambers of the US Congress earlier than it may be signed into legislation.
