WASHINGTON, 08 December, 2020, (TON): The US has included Nigeria on a blacklist of nations for religious freedom violations for the first time.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the West African nation, an ally of the US, was among "countries of concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998."

"The US is unwavering in its commitment to religious freedom. No country or entity should be allowed to persecute people with impunity because of their beliefs," Pompeo said in a tweet. "These annual designations show that when religious freedom is attacked, we will act."

The US State Department found that eight out of 10 people around the world face restrictions on religious freedom.

"Religious freedom is our 'first freedom,'" Pompeo said on Monday at a dinner gala in Washington. "When we, each of us, can worship freely and openly discuss the eternal questions of the soul, we can understand how we ought to live our lives – both individually and as a society," he said.

Notably absent from the list was India, where the religious freedom has seen a sharp decline since Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept to power in 2014.

Religious freedom in India under the Hindu nationalist government of PM Modi has taken "a drastic turn downward," according to the U.S. government commission that monitors conditions around the world.

Earlier, the commission called on the Trump administration to impose sanctions on "Indian government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom," given its treatment of religious minorities, including Christians as well as Muslims but Trump administration keep on ignoring violations in India.

Washington has continuously ignored the issue of declining religious freedom in India during the tenure of Trump.