By Obike Ukoh
Controversy has continued to rage, since the outbursts of United States Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, and others seeking to designate Nigeria, as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) over alleged religious persecution, particularly against Christians.
The bill, sponsored by the senator titled “Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025,’’ calls on the U.S. Secretary of State to restore Nigeria’s CPC status and impose targeted sanctions on Nigerian officials accused of being complicit in religiously motivated violence or in enforcing blasphemy laws.
It should be recalled that Nigeria was designated as CPC in 2020, but the stigma was removed in 2021.
Nigeria has become one of the deadliest places in the world to be a Christian, Cruz said in a statement.
“This bill ensures accountability for Nigerian officials who turn a blind eye, or worse, participate in the persecution of religious minorities, ” the senator stressed.
The bill cites mass killings, church burnings, and incidents such as the 2022 lynching of Deborah Emmanuel in Sokoto State as evidence of systemic religious violence.
As if that was not enough, the lawmaker representing West Virginia’s Second District in the US House of Congress, Riley Moore, has written to President Donald Trump, also urging him to designate Nigeria as CPC.
In the letter dated Oct. 6, 2025 and addressed to the Secretary of States, he described the situation in Nigeria as systematic persecution and slaughter of Christians.
Moore urged the State Department to take swift diplomatic action against Nigeria and suspend arms sales until Nigerian government demonstrates genuine commitment to ending religious motivated violence.
Quoting from available figures, he claimed that over 7,000 Christians were killed in 2025 alone, averaging 35 murders per day.
As expected the Federal Government denied the allegations, while other stakeholders also expressed their views on the issue.
Leading the pack, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement, described the claims as false, divisive and harmful to Nigeria’s peace.
“The Federal Government strongly condemns and categorically refutes recent allegations by certain international platforms and online influencers suggesting that terrorists operating in Nigeria are engaged in a systematic genocide against Christians.
“Such claims are false, baseless, despicable, and divisive,” Idris said.
He stressed that Nigeria’s security challenges should not be misrepresented as religiously motivated.
“Portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as a targeted campaign against a single religious group is a gross misrepresentation of reality.
“While Nigeria, like many countries, has faced security challenges, including acts of terrorism perpetrated by criminals, couching the situation as a deliberate, systematic attack on Christians is inaccurate and harmful,” the minister added.
According to him, terrorists have attacked Nigerians across faiths, not sparing Muslims, Christians or people of other identities.
“These criminals target all who reject their murderous ideology, regardless of faith.
“Muslims, Christians, and even those who do not identify with any religion, have suffered at their hands,” he stated.
He dismissed the genocide narrative as a distortion of Nigeria’s multi-religious reality, adding that the country’s leadership reflected inclusivity.
“Christianity is neither endangered nor marginalised in Nigeria. It is doubtful that foreign interlopers into Nigerian affairs are aware that the current heads of both the Armed Forces and the Police Force are Christians, a fact that underscores the inclusivity of our national leadership,” Idris stressed.
Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communications, debunked Senator Ted Cruz’s claim that Christians are being targeted for persecution.
Bwala stressed that insecurity is a global challenge but accused some American lawmakers and sections of the Western media of pursuing an agenda to destabilise Nigeria.
“Immediately after the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), when Nigeria took a position on many issues around the world, including Gaza, 24 hours later, a comedian and journalist in the U.S., of Jewish descent, cried out.
“From the context of his complaint, you can deduce there is an agenda because he says he wonders why young people in Nigeria are not on the street”.
Bwala said the report cited by such commentators was released under the previous administration and had already been “debunked and controverted” by other findings.
“What they are trying to do is classify every crisis situation in any part of Nigeria as the killing of Christians. I am not saying Christians are not killed, but the figures they present show someone has an agenda,” he added.
“I want to make it clear that insurgency and insecurity in Nigeria are not targeted only at Christians; they target all Nigerians, and we are collectively fighting it,” Bwala said.
He noted that while Boko Haram initially targeted churches in an attempt to trigger a religious conflict, the group later expanded its attacks to all groups, and data shows that more Muslims than Christians have been killed.
Adding his voice, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, dismissed claims by Senator Cruz, television host Bill Maher, and commentator Van Jones alleging a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria.
Dare described the allegations as false, misleading, and capable of inciting division.
He stressed that Nigeria’s security challenges, are driven by terrorism and banditry, not religion.
“These extremists target civilians indiscriminately: churches, mosques, markets, schools, and villages, killing Nigerians of every faith and ethnicity,” he said.
He further pointed out that the President’s marriage to a Christian pastor reflected Nigeria’s culture of religious tolerance.
“The truth remains simple. Nigeria is not witnessing a Christian genocide; it is confronting terrorism that targets everyone. And whoever alleges must prove,” Dare concluded.
Even the National Assembly is not left out, as the Senate is set to debate a key motion aimed at challenging what lawmakers describe as dangerous misrepresentations of the country’s security situation, particularly the growing international narrative portraying violence in parts of Nigeria as a “Christian genocide”.
The motion is sponsored by Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (Borno South), a former Senate Leader, and co-sponsored by Senators Sani Musa (Niger East), Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (Sokoto North), and Ibrahim Bomai (Yobe South).
The motion is titled “Urgent Need to Correct Misconceptions Regarding the Purported ‘Christian Genocide’ Narrative in Nigeria and International Communities.”
Prominent legal expert and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Niyi Akintola, who commented on the issue, urged the National Assembly to respond with empirical evidence to counter what he described as a misleading narrative on happenings in Nigeria.
According to him, there is no religious war in Nigeria, the terrorists are not just attacking Christians, as the story is being painted.
Akintola urged the National Assembly to act decisively by assembling “powerful delegates” to travel to the U.S. and engage with Congress directly on the issue.
Dr Olu Agunloye, a former Minister of Defence, in his contribution, decried the positions of Cruz and others, but urged Nigerian politicians to reflect on their actions.
He acknowledged that violence exists, but stressed that both Christians and Muslims are victims, and that retaliatory attacks between communities and bandits have further complicated the situation.
“Yes, Christians are being killed, just as Muslims are also being killed. Bandits attack Communities, just as Communities also assemble themselves for reprisal attacks on the bandits,” he said.
Agunloye also warned that Nigeria’s international image crisis is partly due to failures within the government.
“My take is that this battle of propaganda against Nigeria will not cease until those in government purge themselves and place more value on collective issues that affect us, instead of personal issues that are of benefit to politicians in power.
“Most of the crises facing Nigeria in the international community are being caused by governors, lawmakers, and government appointees who have failed to do the needful.
“What should the National Assembly do to address the situation? Of course, the lawmakers need to purge themselves first. Otherwise, foreign nations will continue to meddle in our affairs,” Agunloye added.
The US lawmakers are pushing for the designation of Nigeria as CPC, while the Nigerian government is fighting back. To solve the problem from its roots, the Federal Government should show greater and sustained commitment to tackling insecurity and banditry across the Country.
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