President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is designating Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” due to ongoing violence against Christians in the West African nation. The announcement was made via Trump’s Truth Social account, emphasizing the administration’s commitment to addressing religious persecution worldwide.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN,’” Trump wrote. He called on Republican lawmakers to take additional measures to confront the crisis.
The “country of particular concern” (CPC) designation is reserved for nations that engage in or tolerate “particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” according to the U.S. State Department. Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the president is required to annually review global religious freedom conditions and issue such designations as appropriate. The designation can open the door to sanctions or other punitive measures.
Nigeria now joins countries including China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Russia on the CPC list. Trump’s decision follows pressure from Republican lawmakers, such as Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Representative Riley Moore (R-W.Va.), who have urged the administration to take stronger action against violence targeting Christians in Nigeria.
Trump further directed Moore and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) to investigate the matter and report back. “When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria… something must be done!” Trump stated.
Moore thanked the president for the designation and expressed eagerness to work with Cole on protecting Nigerian Christians. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also commented on the situation, saying the United States is “ready, willing, and able to act” against the ongoing attacks.
The violence in Nigeria is primarily carried out by Islamist extremist groups, including Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa, as well as through clashes involving Fulani herders and predominantly Christian farming communities in central Nigeria. Since Boko Haram’s insurgency began in 2009, over 50,000 Christians have reportedly been killed, according to a 2023 report from the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, a Nigerian watchdog group. The report also cites the destruction of over 18,000 Christian churches and 2,000 Christian schools, alongside 34,000 moderate Muslim deaths.
Abductions of Christian clergy have been significant as well. A Vatican study found that 145 priests were kidnapped in Nigeria over the past decade, underscoring the ongoing risks for religious leaders.
Religious freedom advocates praised Trump’s action. Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, director of the Conscience Project, said, “We applaud President Trump for his decisive action today… recognizing the genocidal violence that has claimed over 50,000 Christian lives since 2009 and making Nigeria the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian.”
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