TRUMP DESIGNATES NIGERIA AS ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN’ OVER ALLEGED CHRISTIAN GENOCIDE
Read Time:2 Minute, 34 Second
By Aishat Momoh. O.
United States President Donald Trump has declared Nigeria a “country of particular concern” (CPC) in response to what he described as the “mass slaughter of Christians” in the West African nation.
In a statement released via Truth Social and shared on the White House’s X handle on Friday, Trump said thousands of Christians were being killed by “radical Islamists” and urged immediate U.S. congressional action.
“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.
“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the world!”
The former president called on Congressman Riley Moore and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole to investigate the killings and report to him urgently.
The “country of particular concern” designation, according to the Family Research Council, is a formal classification used by the U.S. government—typically by the Secretary of State to identify nations engaged in severe violations of religious freedom or human rights.
Trump’s declaration follows weeks of growing pressure from U.S. lawmakers, including Congressman Riley Moore and Senator Ted Cruz, who accused Nigerian authorities of “ignoring or even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists.”
In an October 6 statement, Moore had urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to redesignate Nigeria as a CPC and suspend arms sales until Abuja shows a “tangible commitment” to ending religious violence.
He cited reports from Open Doors and other watchdogs claiming over 7,000 Christians have been killed in 2025 alone, and more than 19,000 churches destroyed since 2009.
“Nigeria has become the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian, and the United States cannot stand idly by,” Moore stated.
However, the Nigerian government swiftly rejected the genocide allegations.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, described the U.S. claims as “misleading and unreflective” of the country’s complex security challenges.
In a statement released through his aide, Rabiu Ibrahim, Idris said the violence in Nigeria is not religiously motivated.
“Some of the claims made by officials of the United States are based on faulty data and the assumption that victims of violence are largely Christians. These criminals do not target one religion; they attack both Christians and Muslims,” Idris said on CNN.
He cautioned that spreading such narratives could inflame religious tensions and embolden extremists seeking to divide Nigerian communities.
The latest development comes amid global attention to recent violence in Plateau State, where a viral video showing mass burials in Heipang community sparked outrage.
Local cleric Evangelist Ezekiel Dachomo insisted the footage proves that “Christian genocide is going on in the North,” urging international intervention.
While Nigeria’s government denies any systematic persecution of Christians, the U.S. decision marks a significant escalation in diplomatic pressure potentially impacting bilateral relations, arms sales, and international perception of Nigeria’s human rights record.
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