President Donald Trump said Friday that Christians face an “existential” threat in Nigeria and promised the U.S. State Department would add the country to the list of countries of particular concern, something Christian advocates have long advocated.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump wrote that “thousands of Christians are being murdered” in the West African nation of Nigeria. Nigeria has been plagued by the rise of Islamic extremist groups in the northeast and radicalized nomads in Middle Belt states, where tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced in recent years.
Advocates say Christians in Nigeria face continued attacks with minimal support from the international community.
“Islamic extremists are responsible for this genocide,” he wrote. “I hereby designate Nigeria as a ‘Country of Special Concern’. But that is the bare minimum. When Christians and other groups like that are massacred as is happening in Nigeria (3,100 out of 4,476 people worldwide), something has to be done!”
President Trump’s announcement comes as his administration has been under pressure in recent months to recognize Nigeria as a member of the Chinese Communist Party under the International Religious Freedom Act. Nigeria is a top U.S. designation for religious freedom violators, which could come with potential diplomatic burdens such as sanctions.
The Biden administration lifted Nigeria’s previous CPC designation in 2021. The country was first designated as a CPC in the final year of the first Trump administration.
Earlier this month, Rep. Riley Moore, R-Calif., called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to designate Nigeria a CPC, citing estimates that thousands of Christians have been killed in the country so far this year.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said he is asking Moore and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole to “immediately investigate this matter and report back to me.”
“The United States cannot stand by and watch atrocities like this occur in Nigeria and many other countries,” President Trump said. “We are ready, willing, and able to save great Christians around the world!”
Global Christian persecution watchdog group Open Doors recently warned that more Christians are killed each year for their faith in Nigeria than in all other countries combined.
Although some international observers say what is happening to Christian communities in Middle Belt countries may meet the criteria for religious persecution and genocide, the Nigerian government maintains that the violence is not religious in nature and stems from decades of conflict between farmers and herders. The government has strongly pushed back against claims of genocide, but also faces allegations that it is not taking adequate action to protect its population from radicalized groups.
US-based watchdog group International Christian Concern said President Trump’s CPC designation “could significantly improve the lives of many Christians in Nigeria by raising awareness of ongoing persecution and putting pressure on the Nigerian government to take action.”
“We are deeply grateful for this important recognition,” International Christian Concern President Sean Wright said in a statement shared with The Christian Post. “This represents an important step in mobilizing the international community to confront the atrocities that have devastated so many families and communities in Nigeria. Our prayers are that this designation will encourage other world leaders to follow suit and lead to concrete actions that will bring relief and lasting change to those suffering at the hands of violent extremists.”
Originally published by Christian Post
