Trump declares Nigeria ‘country of particular concern’ over Christian genocide claims

United States President Donald Trump has declared Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern’ in response to allegations of a Christian genocide in the country.

Trump announced his decision in a Truth Social post on Friday, which was shared on the White House’s X handle.

According to a publication by the Family Research Council in 2022, to declare a country a  “country of particular concern” is an official designation typically made by the US government, primarily the Secretary of State, under specific US laws.

The exact meaning and implications of the designation depend on the specific legislation applied, but it generally indicates that the country engages in activities detrimental to US interests or universal human rights standards.

In the post, the US President wrote, “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.’

“But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, are slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!

“I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter and report back to me.”

Trump further said that the US is willing to save Christians in Nigeria and other countries from what he described as “atrocities” bedevilling them to save the population around the world.

“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!” his post added.

A US lawmaker, Riley Moore, urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take immediate diplomatic action over what he described as the “systematic persecution and slaughter of Christians” in Nigeria, which he called the deadliest place in the world for followers of the faith.

In Moore’s October 6 statement, the lawmaker called for Nigeria’s redesignation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and for the suspension of arms sales until the Nigerian government demonstrates a “tangible commitment” to ending the violence.

“Nigeria has become the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian, and the United States cannot stand idly by,” Moore wrote.

Citing figures from Open Doors and other reports, he claimed that more than 7,000 Christians had been killed in 2025 alone and that “at least 19,100 churches have been attacked or destroyed since 2009.”

He alleged that “corrupt cells within the Nigerian government may be complicit” in some attacks, noting that “In states such as Kano, regional governments have closed Christian orphanages and forced the children to be reeducated as Muslims,” he wrote, also citing harsh anti-blasphemy laws that include long prison sentences for “insulting the Prophet Mohammed.”

While acknowledging that Nigerians of all faiths face terrorism, Moore said Christians “are far and away the most targeted for persecution and violence.”

He claimed that Nigeria “is the headquarters of no less than 22 Islamic terror groups with links to ISIS and other broader networks,” stressing that “the attempt to diminish these facts does not speak well of the Nigerian government.”

He urged Rubio to “use all diplomatic tools available,” including halting military support, adding that the Biden administration’s reversal of Nigeria’s CPC designation “was a mistake.”

Moore said, “The moment demands that the administration take strong action without delay. This must end.”

Moore’s post followed similar remarks by US Senator Ted Cruz, who in late September alleged that Nigerian officials were “ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists.”

Recall that a Plateau-based cleric and regional leader of the Church of Christ in Nations, Evangelist Ezekiel Dachomo, had stirred attention with a viral video showing the mass burial of victims of a recent attack in Heipang community near Jos.

Responding to the allegation, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said that some US lawmakers are relying on inaccurate and misleading data to allege a so-called Christian genocide in Nigeria.

Some US senators recently called for decisive diplomatic action against the Nigerian government over alleged “persecution of Christians”, a claim the Federal Government and several religious leaders have consistently maintained is not driven by religious motives.

Speaking on CNN on Tuesday night, Idris described the claims by some foreign officials as “misleading and unreflective” of Nigeria’s complex security realities.

According to a statement issued by his media aide, Rabiu Ibrahim, the minister reaffirmed that Nigeria remains firmly committed to upholding religious freedom, human rights, the rule of law, and democracy.

“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.

“Yes, there are Christians being attacked, but these criminals do not target one religion; they attack both Christians and Muslims, especially in the northern part of the country,” Idris said.

The minister warned that promoting such narratives could inadvertently embolden criminal groups whose goal is to incite religious tension and fuel animosity between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.

Trump first designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (for persecution against Christians) in 2020. The following year, President Biden inexplicably removed that status.