Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made any recent representations to Nigeria on the security situation for Christians in northern Nigeria.

The UK Government regularly advocates for the protections of all vulnerable communities, including religious minorities, through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora as well as raising Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) directly with the Government of Nigeria. In his meeting with the Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives on 22 January, the Minister for Africa raised the importance of FoRB and resolving intercommunal conflict and tensions. Additionally, through our Strengthening Peace and Resilience programme (SPRiNG) the UK is providing £38 million to help tackle the root causes of intercommunal conflict and reduce rural violence in northwest and north-central Nigeria, including by supporting collaboration and productive livelihoods for both farmers and pastoralists, and strengthening conflict early warning, management and response.