Amid mounting U.S. pressure over alleged “Christian genocide,” Nigeria’s government has pushed back strongly against what it calls a distorted narrative of religious persecution, warning that such claims could harm bilateral relations and undermine joint security efforts.
The response follows a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, seeking to re-designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) over alleged religious violence targeting Christians.
The proposed Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025 calls for targeted sanctions on Nigerian officials accused of complicity in religiously motivated attacks or in enforcing blasphemy laws.
Cruz claimed that since 2009, “over 50,000 Christians have been massacred” and “over 20,000 churches and Christian schools destroyed,” blaming federal and state policies for enabling the violence. “Nigeria has become one of the deadliest places in the world to be a Christian,” he said.
In response, Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, rejected the claims, telling Fox News Digital that they were “certainly not true.” He insisted that Nigeria’s security crisis stems from terrorism and banditry, not religion, noting that extremists “target civilians indiscriminately, churches, mosques, markets, and schools.”
Presidential aides, Daniel Bwala and Sunday Dare also dismissed Cruz’s assertions as “false and inciting,” accusing some Western lawmakers and media of pursuing an agenda to destabilise Africa’s largest democracy.
Dare added that President Bola Tinubu’s government promotes unity and tolerance, citing the President’s interfaith family as an example of Nigeria’s diversity.
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