By EMMANUEL OGEBE

The UK Government has again acknowledged the veracity and gravity of religious persecution in Nigeria in a House of Lords session days after the anticlimactic US religious persecution report that totally omitted Nigeria after 20 years.

According to The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park, “The noble Baroness is right to highlight the problems in north-east Nigeria, where extremist groups and the ongoing conflict are having a massive impact on communities. These terrorist organisations are set on undermining the right to freedom of religion or belief by attacking those of all faiths who do not subscribe to their limited, extremist views. We are taking a co-ordinated approach to supporting Nigeria and its neighbours to address both the causes and impacts of that conflict. That involves political and defence engagement, humanitarian development and counterterrorism support, and stabilisation and mediation assistance. I do not have figures solely from the time of DfID, but I have some which overlap; over the last five years, the UK has provided £425 million in humanitarian aid to north-east Nigeria. We believe that has reached around 1.5 million vulnerable people.”

The Minister was responding to questions from members of the House of Lord including renowned Humanitarian and Advocate Baroness Caroline Cox whose charity assists victims in Nigeria.

However despite the humungous amount the Minister claimed had been spent to address the religious conflict in northeast Nigeria, a high level UK source said: “I would caution Goldsmith’s outputs data with the lessons from the Afghanistan Compact. You cannot measure outcome and impact with quantitative data based on KPIs which is what the FCDO demands. The security situation in the Sahel, W and C Africa is deteriorating so how can he quote figures of kids in school as a measure of success when people are being killed? Again their messaging is incoherent.”

Unlike the UK, the US is clearly out of step with reality in Nigeria and its key global ally and Nigeria and America’s former colonial ruler – the United Kingdom. This does nothing more than elongate the crisis and undermine America’s credibility.

It is an unspeakable tragedy of history that the US which was formed by Protestant Christian’s fleeing persecution in UK is today betraying persecuted Christians in Nigeria which even the UK itself recognizes.

The former persecutor recognizes the persecution of the current victim but the former victim refuses to recognize the persecution of the current victim.

•Emmanuel Ogebe is a US-based international human rights lawyer.

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