A member of U.S. Congress and Christian religious freedom advocates are calling on the Trump administration to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern due to escalating attacks against Christians after the designation was removed during the Biden administration.
Around three dozen prominant religious freedom advocates have signed onto a letter urging President Donald Trump to have the U.S. State Department designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act, saying “several years have seen a burgeoning of violent attacks specifically targeting rural Christians in the country’s Middle Belt, while the government in Abuja barely lifts a finger to protect them.”
“U.S. law warrants CPC designation when a country is found to be ‘tolerating’ serious violations of religious freedom, as well as when itself carries out violations,” the letter reads. “The Nigerian government is directly violating religious freedom by enforcing Islamic blasphemy laws that carry the death penalty and harsh prison sentences against citizens of various religions. It also demonstrably tolerates relentless aggression uniquely against Christian farming families by militant Fulani Muslim herders, who appear intent on forcibly Islamizing the Middle Belt.”
Signatories of the letter include Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Washington-based think tank Hudson Institute; Frank Wolf, a former member of Congress and longtime champion of international religious freedom causes; Focus on the Family CEO Jim Daly; and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins.
Their letter comes after a similar letter by Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.V., called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to designate Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern, following a sharp rise in killings, kidnappings and displacement across the West African country.
The Biden administration lifted Nigeria’s previous CPC designation in 2021. It was designated a CPC for the first time in the final year of the first Trump administration.
Moore cited figures from an NGO suggesting that more than 7,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria in the first seven months of 2025. He described the situation as a “horrific slaughter of our brothers and sisters in Christ” in a post on X.
Tens of thousands of Nigerian Christians have been killed in the last decade, while many others have been displaced amid the rise of Islamic extremist groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State in the northeast and the increase of attacks carried out by radicalized Fulani militias against predominantly Christian communities in the Middle Belt states.
The global Christian persecution watchdog Open Doors has warned in recent years that more Christians are killed in Nigeria for their faith annually than in all other countries combined.
While some international observers say what’s happening to Christian communities in the Middle Belt states may meet the standard for religious persecution and genocide, the Nigerian government contends that such violence is not inherently religious and emanates from decades-old farmer-herder clashes.
Moore warned that the U.S. must address what he described as a religiously motivated threat by radical Islamic terrorists.
“We must acknowledge the religious nature of this scourge of anti-Christian violence from radical Islamic terrorists,” Moore stated. “It’s time for the United States to defend our brothers and sisters in Christ, and designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern will provide the diplomatic tools necessary to do just that. I urge Secretary Rubio to designate Nigeria as a CPC without delay.”
In July, Moore and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced a joint congressional resolution condemning the persecution of Christians in Muslim-majority countries. The measure named Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, citing targeted killings, arrests, church closures and forced conversions.
The resolution called on the administration to use trade and security negotiations to press for changes and referred to the 2025 World Watch List by Open Doors, which estimated that over 380 million Christians globally face high levels of persecution.
The resolution followed Moore’s April address on the House floor, during which he condemned global Christian persecution.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has also introduced legislation that would hold Nigerian officials accountable for enabling jihadist attacks. Public figures such as comedian Bill Maher have echoed calls to raise awareness of violence against Christians in Nigeria.
