Texas Senator Ted Cruz has commended President Donald Trump for redesignating Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” describing the move as a decisive step toward addressing the persecution of Christians in the country.
PUNCH Online earlier reported that Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, claimed that Christianity was facing an “existential threat” in Nigeria, accusing radical Islamists of carrying out widespread killings of Christians.
“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.
He added that the United States “cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening” and pledged that Washington would “stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world.”
Reacting to the decision in a statement released on his website, Cruz applauded Trump’s action, noting that he had long advocated for stronger measures against religious persecution in Nigeria.
“I am deeply gratified to President Trump for making this determination. I have fought for years to counter the slaughter and persecution of Christians in Nigeria, and this year introduced legislation that will lock in the designation made today,” Cruz stated.
He said the redesignation was a vital step toward holding Nigerian officials accountable for policies and actions that enable attacks on Christians.
“Today’s designation is a critical step in holding accountable and changing the behaviour of Nigerian officials who have facilitated and created an environment conducive to the outrages in Nigeria,” the senator said.
Cruz added that his proposed legislation would go further by imposing sanctions on individuals enforcing blasphemy and sharia laws in Nigeria.
“I am committed to working with the administration and my colleagues to advance my bill and implement these necessary measures. Today’s decision by President Trump is a great one, and I thank him for his strong leadership,” he said.
Recall that Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025 in the Senate to designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern and take immediate diplomatic action against Nigerian officials who facilitate Islamist jihadist violence.
The bill protects Christians and other religious minorities being persecuted in Nigeria by holding Nigerian officials accountable who facilitate Islamist jihadist violence and the imposition of blasphemy laws.
He had said, “Nigerian Christians are being targeted and executed for their faith by Islamist terrorist groups, and are being forced to submit to sharia law and blasphemy laws across Nigeria.
“It is long past time to impose real costs on the Nigerian officials who facilitate these activities, and my Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act uses new and existing tools to do exactly that. I urge my colleagues to advance this critical legislation expeditiously.”
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.
Speaking on CNN on Tuesday night, Idris described the claims by some foreign officials as “misleading and unreflective” of Nigeria’s complex security realities.
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.
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