The United States Government has officially redesignated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for violation of religious freedom.
President Donald Trump disclosed this in a post on Truth Social on 31 October.
He vowed to take action to combat the mass-scale persecution of Christians in Nigeria with the designation.
President Trump also asked members of Congress, led by Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV), to investigate and provide recommendations for how to combat the persecution.
CPC is officially designated by the U.S. President and Secretary of State as engaging in or tolerating “particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a “COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN” – But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done! I am asking Congressman Riley Moor, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriation Committee, to immediately look into the matter and report back to me. The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria and numerous other Countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World,” President Trump said in the post.
The president’s action came a few weeks after an American senator, Ted Cruz, introduced a bill in the United States Senate seeking to protect Christians and other religious minorities from persecution in Nigeria.
Titled, “Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025,” the proposed legislation seeks to enlist Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
The Republican lawmaker from Texas, in the bill introduced on September 9, wanted officials of the Nigerian government to be held accountable for facilitating Islamic jihadist violence or enforcing harsh blasphemy laws, which have led to the death and imprisonment of innocent citizens.
The bill seeks to:
- Impose targeted sanctions against Nigerian officials who facilitate violence against Christians and other religious minorities, including by Islamist terrorist groups.
- Impose targeted sanctions against Nigerian officials who enforce sharia and blasphemy laws.
- Require the Secretary of State to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.
- Require the Secretary of State to ensure that Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa remain designated as Entities of Particular Concern.
The Nigerian government, however, debunked the claim, describing it as false, baseless, despicable, and divisive.
Intolerance, not our identity – Nigerian leader replies Trump
Meanwhile, reacting to President Trump’s decision to redesignate Nigeria as “a country of particular concern,” President Bola Tinubu said it does not reflect the national reality.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians,” President Tinubu said in a social media statement on Saturday, November 1.
“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it. Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths.”
However, Tinubu described those claims as inaccurate and unhelpful, adding that his administration has maintained open and active engagement with leaders of both major religions since assuming office in 2023.
“Since 2023, our administration has maintained an open and active engagement with Christian and Muslim leaders alike and continues to address security challenges which affect citizens across faiths and regions,” he said.
The Nigerian leader said his government continues to invest in security reforms to protect communities from terrorism and banditry, regardless of religious affiliation.
He noted that violent groups operating in parts of the country target both Christians and Muslims, undermining national peace and unity.
“Religious freedom and tolerance have been core tenets of our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it,” the president said.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to collaborating with the US and other international partners to deepen understanding, promote coexistence, and strengthen mechanisms that protect vulnerable communities.
“Our administration is committed to working with the United States government and the international community to deepen understanding and cooperation on protection of communities of all faiths,” Tinubu said.
“Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths. Intolerance is not our identity.”
Nigeria’s CPC status
Nigeria was included in the “Countries of Particular Concern (CPC)” list for the first time in 2019 after an indictment by the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
“Religious freedom conditions in Nigeria trended negatively in 2018. The Nigerian government at the national and state levels continued to tolerate violence and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief, and suppressed the freedom to manifest religion or belief,” the Commission’s report said at the time.
Again, in December 2020, Nigeria, alongside nine other countries, was designated as a CPC for being guilty of violations of religious freedom.
The other countries are Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, the DPRK, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
In a statement on December 7, the then U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said the countries had been re-designated for the second time as Countries of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as amended.
Nigeria was, however, removed from the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) on November 17, 2021, a day before then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the country on a visit. He was on a tour of some African countries.
The exclusion provoked outrage among some Nigerians.
On June 29, 2022, five American senators, including the current Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, requested that the country’s government redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) due to the declining state of religious freedom in the country.
They made the demand in a memo to Blinken.
The other senators, all Republican, are Josh Hawley (Missouri), Mike Braun (Indiana), Tom Cotton (Arkansas), and James Inhofe (Oklahoma).