By Our Correspondent
United States President Donald J. Trump has once again placed Nigeria on Washington’s list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC), citing what he described as an existential threat to Christianity and the persecution of Christians in Africa’s most populous nation.
Announcing the decision through his official social media handle on Thursday, President Trump said thousands of Christians in Nigeria have been killed by radical Islamist groups, accusing the Nigerian government of failing to protect vulnerable communities.
Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. The killings are unacceptable, and the United States will not remain silent while innocent people are being slaughtered for their faith, Trump said.
The move revives a policy first introduced during Trump’s first term in December 2020, when Nigeria was similarly placed on the CPC list. The Biden administration removed the country from the list in 2021, arguing that the situation had improved. Trump’s renewed designation marks a return to his administration’s tough stance on international religious freedom.
Under the International Religious Freedom Act, the United States can designate any nation as a Country of Particular Concern if it engages in or tolerates particularly severe violations of religious freedom. The designation allows Washington to apply diplomatic pressure, economic sanctions, or restrictions on military assistance.
Advocacy groups, U.S. lawmakers, and faith-based organizations have for years urged stronger action over what they describe as systematic attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria, especially in the Middle Belt and northern regions where Islamist insurgents and armed herder groups remain active.
While Trump and some American lawmakers have called the crisis a Christian genocide, independent researchers and humanitarian organizations say the violence is far more complex. They note that Nigeria’s conflicts are driven by multiple factors, including ethnic rivalries, land disputes, banditry, and jihadist insurgencies that have claimed both Christian and Muslim lives.
According to recent data cited by the Associated Press, between 2020 and 2025 more than 700 people were killed in religion-related attacks in Nigeria, including similar numbers of Christian and Muslim victims. The Nigerian government has rejected the claim of a targeted genocide, calling the U.S. designation misinformed and politically motivated.
A statement from Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said violence in Nigeria affects citizens of all faiths and should not be mischaracterized as a war on Christianity, but rather a broader security and governance challenge.
The designation could strain diplomatic relations between Washington and Abuja, especially in areas of defense and counterterrorism cooperation. Nigeria depends on U.S. intelligence and military support in its fight against extremist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Human rights advocates say the move could also pressure Nigerian authorities to improve protections for religious minorities and ensure accountability for perpetrators of faith-based violence.
Analysts, however, warn that the designation should be followed by careful diplomacy rather than punitive isolation, to avoid worsening tensions or undermining interfaith dialogue.
The U.S. State Department is expected to release its full report on Nigeria’s CPC status in the coming weeks, outlining the criteria and evidence that informed the designation. Religious and civil society leaders in Nigeria have meanwhile called for constructive engagement, urging both governments to focus on peacebuilding and national unity rather than confrontation.
As both nations navigate this renewed diplomatic rift, the central question remains whether Nigeria can curb its worsening insecurity without deepening religious divisions — and whether the United States can help without politicizing faith.
