U.S. President, Donald J. Trump has declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) over what he described as the “mass slaughter of Christians” across the West African nation. Trump, in a strongly worded statement released on Tuesday, condemned what he called an “existential threat to Christianity” and urged the U.S. Congress to take immediate action.
According to Trump, Nigeria has become one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians, with thousands killed annually in attacks attributed to extremist groups and radicalized militias.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria,” Trump said. “Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ — but that is the least of it.”
The statement referenced data indicating that 3,100 Nigerian Christians were killed within the past year — out of 4,476 Christians murdered globally — making Nigeria the single deadliest country for followers of the faith.
“When Christians, or any such group, are slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria — 3,100 out of 4,476 worldwide — something must be done!” Trump emphasized.
He called on Congressman Riley Moore, Chairman Tom Cole, and the House Appropriations Committee to immediately investigate the situation and report their findings to him.
“I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter, and report back to me,” he said.
Trump said the United States “cannot stand by” while Christians and other vulnerable groups face persecution and death in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries,” he declared. “We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world!”
The statement marks one of the most direct condemnations by a former U.S. president regarding Nigeria’s deteriorating security situation, particularly the targeted violence against Christian communities in the country’s Middle Belt and Northwest regions.
Trump’s remarks revive the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) designation — a human rights policy tool used by the U.S. Department of State to sanction nations that engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom.
Under Trump’s administration in December 2020, Nigeria was first designated a Country of Particular Concern for the same reason. However, the Biden administration controversially removed Nigeria from the list in November 2021, drawing sharp criticism from international Christian advocacy groups and U.S. lawmakers.
Observers see Trump’s latest statement as both a policy call and a political signal to religious conservatives ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, emphasizing his long-standing focus on protecting persecuted Christians globally.
Nigeria has faced an unprecedented wave of violence in recent years, driven by terrorist groups like Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Fulani militant herders attacking rural Christian communities, particularly in states such as Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, and Taraba.
Human rights organizations, including Open Doors International, Christian Solidarity International (CSI), and the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), have consistently ranked Nigeria among the world’s most dangerous places to be a Christian.
In its 2024 report, Open Doors noted that “Nigeria accounts for 82% of all Christians killed for their faith globally.”
Despite government assurances, local leaders say the response from Nigerian authorities has been slow and ineffective, allowing impunity to thrive.
Trump’s declaration has already drawn mixed reactions across diplomatic and religious circles.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) welcomed the move, saying it brings renewed international attention to what it calls a “genocide of Christians.”
“We appreciate President Trump’s courage to speak the truth. The killings are real, and our government must do more,” a CAN spokesperson said in Abuja.
However, Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Information has often dismissed such allegations, arguing that violence in the country is not religiously motivated but a result of communal and criminal conflicts.
Political analysts say Trump’s statement could strain U.S.-Nigeria relations if adopted by the U.S. government in future, especially as Nigeria remains one of America’s key economic and security partners in Africa.
Under Trump’s presidency (2017–2021), religious freedom was elevated to a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy. His administration held two major Ministerials to Advance Religious Freedom, hosted by the U.S. Department of State, and established the International Religious Freedom Alliance in 2020.
Trump’s Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, had said at the time that the U.S. “will not tolerate religious persecution in any form, anywhere.”
Reinstating Nigeria’s CPC designation, experts say, could allow Washington to impose sanctions, restrict security assistance, or suspend aid programs to pressure Nigerian authorities to better protect religious minorities.
The renewed call for action by Trump may also influence ongoing debates within Congress, where several Republican lawmakers have pushed for the Biden administration to reinstate Nigeria’s CPC status.
Earlier this year, Senator Josh Hawley and Representative Chris Smith jointly introduced a resolution condemning Nigeria’s removal from the list, describing the killings as “a moral failure of U.S. diplomacy.”
Trump’s re-entry into the conversation, observers say, could galvanize bipartisan support for stronger U.S. intervention on religious freedom issues in Africa.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with over 200 million people, is nearly evenly split between Christians in the south and Muslims in the north. Analysts warn that continued sectarian violence threatens national unity and stability.
“Declaring Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern is not just symbolic — it signals the urgency of addressing the systemic persecution Christians face,” said Dr. Emmanuel Ogebe, a U.S.-based human rights lawyer.
He added that Trump’s statement could reignite diplomatic pressure on Abuja to prosecute perpetrators and implement long-delayed reforms in policing and security management.
Trump’s declaration represents one of the most forceful international condemnations of Nigeria’s security crisis in recent years. By linking the protection of Christians in Nigeria to America’s moral responsibility, Trump has thrust the issue of religious freedom back into global focus.
“We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world!”
— Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America
Whether symbolic or substantive, Trump’s pronouncement has once again drawn the world’s attention to a grim reality — that for millions of Nigerian Christians, faith continues to be a matter of life and death.
One Comment
I just want to thank Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America for this pronouncement.
Nigeria government should quit the hypocrisy for “re-election” and face governance.