Members of Parliament have said that Sir Keir Starmer has to talk to Nigeria’s president about the deaths of Christians while he is in the UK for a state visit.
DailyMail UK says that President Bola Tinubu and his wife Oluremi will be welcomed by the King and Queen at Windsor Castle on Wednesday. They will be the guests of honor during a state banquet.
On Thursday, Tinubu will go to Downing Street to meet with Prime Minister Sir Keir. This will be the first time in 37 years that a Nigerian president has made a state visit.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Freedom of Religion or Belief (APPG FoRB) has written to the Development Minister, Baroness Jenny Chapman, asking the Government to put pressure on Mr. Tinubu to preserve human rights in his country.
This happens at the same time as Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world for Christians. Islamist terrorist groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have been attacking Christians in large numbers.
Earlier this year, armed gangs in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna State kidnapped over 163 Christians. This is part of a series of kidnappings targeting Christians in the country.
Jim Shannon, the group’s chairman and a DUP MP, said that Nigeria must “take concrete steps to stop the harassment, persecution, and killing of Christians, while making sure that those responsible are investigated and punished.”
The 209 MPs and peers were worried that the Nigerian government wasn’t taking the attacks seriously enough.
They wanted the government to explain what happened to Leah Sharibu, one of the 110 schoolgirls who were kidnapped in 2018.
The militants are still holding her captive because she won’t give up her Christian religion.
APPG FoRB also requested Sir Keir to make sure that human rights duties are at the heart of all future talks about trade, security, and diplomacy.
Before the state visit, it asked Baroness Chapman to respond.
Dame Sarah Mullally, the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, may also talk to Mrs. Tinubu on human rights when she welcomes the Nigerian First Lady at Lambeth Palace on Thursday.
Mrs. Tinubu is a Christian pastor, and her husband is a Muslim. She will go to a prayer service and be asked to preach.
She will also go to a reception at Lambeth Palace with people from the Church of England and faith-based NGOs that have helped in Nigeria, such Christian Aid.
Last year, rumors spread that Christians were being killed in large numbers in the African country. On Christmas Day, the US bombed the northern state of Sokoto.
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