Pagans in State Department Willing To Sacrifice Nigerian Christians To Save Mother Earth, Complain About “Hill Screaming” as Screaming Christians Face Genocide

The radical Left cares more about theoretically combating climate change than physically saving the lives of Nigerian Christians who are being slaughtered. We know this because of our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Biden Administration, and we have the evidence to prove it.

It is often famously said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” This refers to the moral duty of good men to act against evil. Unfortunately, the Biden Administration’s State Department has chosen to do nothing and look the other way despite the ongoing and undeniable evils currently unfolding against Nigerian Christians. The latest FOIA batch that the Biden State Departed has been forced to turn over to the ACLJ, regarding the Biden State Department’s wrongheaded decision to remove Nigeria’s status as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for the widespread persecution of Christians within its borders, reveals the State Department’s attempt to deflect and hide behind euphemisms and legal facades to downplay the severity of the unfolding Christian persecution in Nigeria. This is most obvious in the emails uncovered by the ACLJ and the informal recounting of the congressional hearing of U.S. Assistant Secretary (A/S) of State for African Affairs Molly Phee.

One email to A/S Phee reads: “Sounds like you did quite well– no surprise– and member statements were also no surprise.” (p. 1) Statements made by Members of Congress were unsurprising in part because of the widespread knowledge of the suspected genocide taking place in Nigeria, as well as the controversy surrounding the Biden Administration’s questionable decision to remove Nigeria’s CPC status.

As mentioned in previous posts, the Biden Administration and State Department officials were well aware of the purposeful targeting of Christians yet chose to downplay and disregard their plight to advance other objectives. This may be why, for example, a November 2021 email following the decision to delist Nigeria indicates that State Department officials “fully expect[ed] a FOIA on this decision and perhaps some Hill screaming as well.” (pg. 5) Thanks to the ACLJ’s FOIA litigation, the contempt and condescension of unelected bureaucrats at the State Department toward essential accountability processes have been publicly revealed. Furthermore, at least one redacted State Department official considers apt the use of the phrase “Hill screaming” to describe Congress and its use of essential oversight mechanisms, especially when the subject matter of that oversight is the actual screaming of women and children facing the brutality of persecution and genocide in Nigeria. It’s a sickening lack of care or concern. The very fact that the State Department has chosen, for no apparent reason, to redact the name of this official should be glaringly obvious that this was a wholly inappropriate snipe in the face of unthinkable bloodshed and destruction of innocent life.

Emails turned over to the ACLJ also contain an internal, informal memo drafted shortly after A/S Phee’s testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in December 2021. This is a significant document because it reveals the internal priorities of the State Department in terms of the information deemed important enough to be recorded and shared. The memo noted that Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-4) explicitly requested that Nigeria be placed back on the CPC list, noting that Genocide Watch has called Nigeria “a killing field of defenseless Christians,” the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said the change was “unexplainable,” and a Nigerian bishop personally told Rep. Smith that “the mass slaughter of Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt by every standard meets the criteria for a calculated genocide from the definition of the Genocide Convention. . . . It could be re-designated tomorrow.” (p. 13) A/S Phee’s response thanks Rep. Smith for his focus on religious freedom in Nigeria and states that “Secretary Blinken . . . made very clear to the leadership that the United States remained committed to this fundamental value. . . . We expected the government to do more. . . . We will continue to make this part of our engagement.” (p. 13)

If the Biden Administration is not seeking to end violations of religious freedom and the alleged genocide, then what are their priorities in Nigeria? Another exchange reveals some of the ongoing unreasonableness and misplaced priorities of the State Department’s policies. Rep. Dan Meuser (PA-9) asked about the Biden Administration’s restriction of foreign assistance to national gas projects, noting how it hurts many African countries by creating dependence on “unreliable and expensive electricity.” (p. 13) A/S Phee noted the tension between green energy priorities and international development, using Nigeria as an example of an African country seeking “to cap methane emissions while . . . deal[ing] with its own gas transition.” (p. 13) Instead of broad concern with fundamental liberties and the dignity and worth of human lives, the State Department would rather push a green energy and environmental agenda abroad, regardless of the lives that may be lost in the process.

Later in the hearing, Rep. Meuser explained that members of the Nigerian parliament met with Rep. Smith, and the Nigerians expressed fear for their lives and the lives of their families. He continues: “And yet last week the State Department removed Nigeria from the CPC. Please explain to us how that decision was made?” (p. 14) A/S Phee responded, “The decision was made based on a legal determination that the government of Nigeria is not engaged – the language of the statute is [not] ‘engaged in severe violations of religious freedom.’” She goes on to state that it is still an emphasis, but Nigeria “[has] enormous population challenges . . . [has] enormous economic challenges . . . and [is] also affected by climate change.” She follows by saying that while she agrees that these factors “weren’t an adequate explanation for transgressions against religious freedom . . . it is helpful to understand the broad range of factors. . . . I want to again emphasize our commitment to religious freedom.” (p. 14) Once again, climate change and green energy are placed on par with the targeted execution of Nigerian Christians. A/S Phee’s lip service to a vague “legal determination” while willfully burying human rights atrocities among a long list of Nigeria’s problems represents the sacrifice of Nigerian Christians to advance a broader list of United States environmental and energy priorities. This supposed legal claim is also disputable given that, just a year earlier, Nigeria had been found committing severe enough violations of religious liberty to warrant inclusion on the CPC list. Yet the situation does not seem to have changed or improved – in fact, it may now be much worse.

One other revealing email speaking to the gravity of the situation in Nigeria was sent by Baroness Caroline Cox, an Independent Member of the House of Lords and Founder President of Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART). In March 2022 – just four months after the delisting occurred – Baroness Cox flagged a HART Visit Report for the State Department from her recent trip to central Nigeria, “where Islamist Fulani militia attacks continue to escalate against predominantly Christian victims.” She also attached her report with “photos of destroyed villages and eye-witness accounts of the slaughter of women, children and the elderly” and noted that “violence has resulted in thousands of deaths and millions displaced across the Middle Belt . . . with virtually no support from the Nigerian Government or international community.” The only response to this from a State Department official was to forward the email to another colleague with the comment “In case you didn’t receive directly.” (pg. 17) Based on ongoing reports of the on-the-ground dynamics in Nigeria after the designation was improperly removed, it is unclear why updated information such as this did not compel a new “legal determination” to return Nigeria to the CPC list.

Finally, and most importantly, the State Department’s rationale concerning the ultimate decision to delist Nigeria was produced in this batch in redacted form. (p. 23) Of note is that the document was originally classified as Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU). This classification denotes “information that is not classified for national security reasons, but that warrants/requires administrative control and protection from public or other unauthorized disclosure for other reasons. . . . SBU should meet one or more criteria for exemption from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.” Once again, the contents of the document were likely withheld based on the Deliberative Process Privilege, a well-known tactic abused by the government to prevent the disclosure of records that may reveal problems or contain embarrassing information. The fact that State Department officials were aware the Nigeria decision would merit robust FOIA requests means the use of this exemption merits further investigation and challenge. Not only would a successful challenge reveal the true underlying motivation for Nigeria’s reclassification, but it would also serve as a major victory against the Deep State’s significant stonewalling and opposition to transparency.

Rest assured that we will continue to press the Biden Administration and relevant State Department officials on the exact rationale for their decision. These internal documents shed light on the general contempt the Deep State has for congressional oversight, or as a State Department official called it: “Hill screaming.” Additionally, the internal memo surrounding the hearing revealed potential motivations for downplaying the reclassification of Nigeria as a CPC. One prominent reason appears to be that the lives of Nigerian Christians are worth sacrificing to advance the radical Left’s environmental and energy goals in Nigeria. Finally, additional critical information concerning the ongoing targeting of Christians and atrocities slaughtering women, children, and the elderly in Nigeria was shared with the State Department, though it held no sway in dictating the Biden State Department to change course. Know that we will continue to press the Biden Administration and relevant State Department officials on the exact rationale for their decision and hold them accountable for their abandonment of persecuted Christians abroad.