The US principal adviser for global religious freedom, Mark Walker, said the policy has been activated, enabling the State Department to impose visa restrictions on individuals linked to religious freedom violations in Nigeria.

In December, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the new measures, stating they would target those who “knowingly direct, authorise, fund, support, or carry out violations of religious freedom.”

According to the secretary of state, the decision forms part of the US government’s firm response to what he described as “atrocities and violence against Christians” in Nigeria and other parts of the world.

The announcement followed a resolution introduced a month earlier by Chris Smith, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, which called for visa bans and asset freezes against individuals and entities implicated in serious violations of religious freedom in Nigeria.

Smith’s resolution specifically identified the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as entities accused of involvement in violations.

In a post on X on Friday, Walker said, “We have already executed on this policy, and we will continue to subject perpetrators to additional scrutiny,” without naming the affected entities.

“If you engage in persecution, you are not welcome in America,” he added. “The United States is safer when we keep those responsible for religious persecution from entering our homeland.”

In February, US lawmakers also proposed sanctions against Rabiu Kwankwaso, the former governor of Kano State, accusing him of complicity in violations of religious freedom.