United States President Donald Trump has designated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) over what he described as the “mass killing of Christians” in the country.
Trump made the announcement on Friday via a post on Truth Social, which was also shared on the White House’s X handle.
According to the Family Research Council, the “country of particular concern” designation is an official label used by the U.S. government—typically by the Secretary of State—under American law to identify nations accused of severe violations of religious freedom or human rights.
In his post, Trump said Christianity was 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,’” he wrote.
“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.”
The U.S. president added that Washington was “ready, willing, and able” to defend persecuted Christians globally.
“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!”
Trump’s comments came amid growing pressure from some U.S. lawmakers to take diplomatic action against Nigeria over alleged persecution of Christians.
Earlier in October, Congressman Riley Moore urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to redesignate Nigeria as a CPC and suspend arms sales to Abuja until the 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 said, citing data from Open Doors and other reports that claim over 7,000 Christians have been killed in 2025 and 19,100 churches attacked or destroyed since 2009.
Moore also alleged that “corrupt cells within the Nigerian government may be complicit” in some attacks, and that regional authorities in states such as Kano have shut down Christian orphanages while enforcing strict anti-blasphemy laws.
He argued that Nigeria “is the headquarters of no less than 22 Islamic terror groups with links to ISIS,” adding that the Biden administration’s decision to remove Nigeria from the CPC list was a mistake.
The calls have been echoed by Senator Ted Cruz, who in September accused Nigerian officials of “ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists.”
In Nigeria, the allegations have reignited debate about the country’s ongoing security crisis. A Plateau-based cleric, Evangelist Ezekiel Dachomo of the Church of Christ in Nations, recently drew global attention with a viral video showing the mass burial of victims of an attack in Heipang, near Jos.
Dachomo described the killings as part of an ongoing “Christian genocide,” saying the video was intended to preserve evidence and strengthen the faith of believers under persecution.
“We are keeping records of what we are passing through, just as the Bible records what Christians endured,” he said. “We have now resorted to self-defence; otherwise, the name of Jesus will not be mentioned again in our land.”
However, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, dismissed the genocide allegations as “inaccurate and misleading,” saying some U.S. lawmakers were relying on distorted reports.
Speaking on CNN on Tuesday, Idris said the claims were “unreflective of Nigeria’s complex security realities,” insisting that violence in parts of the country is driven by multiple factors—including criminality and communal conflicts—rather than religion.
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