The US has removed Nigeria from the list of religious violators, ahead of the visit by the Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the country.
The US government had last year placed Nigeria to its special watch list of states that had engaged in or tolerated the severe violation of religious freedom
Nigeria is not in the 2021 list which has Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Algeria, Comoros, Cuba, and Nicaragua are also on the special list of governments that have violated religious freedom, according to the US state department.
However, the jihadist groups Boko Haram and Iswap operating in north-east Nigeria, are still designated as entities of particular concern.