UPDATE: Trump says he will designate Nigeria 'country of particular concern'
An African nun prays the rosary. On Jan. 7, 2025, two religious sisters were kidnapped in the Archdiocese of Onitsha in Nigeria. / Credit: Diego Cervo/Shutterstock. Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 31, 2025 / 17:30 pm (CNA).
President Donald Trump said he is designating Nigeria a “country of particular concern.”
In a social media post Oct. 31, Trump said, “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’”.
Under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998, the U.S president must designate countries that engage in or tolerate “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” as CPCs. Violations include torture, prolonged detention without charges, and forced disappearence, according to the State Department.
The last CPC designations were made by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in December 2023, when Blinken revoked Nigeria’s CPC designation that was put in place by then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2020.
Christian leaders delivered a letter to Trump on Oct. 15 that said 52,000 Christians have been killed and over 20,000 churches attacked and destroyed in Nigeria since 2009. In addition, it said, thousands of Christians have been murdered and raped in 2025, and “over 100 Christian pastors and Catholic priests have been taken hostage for ransom.”
Trump said in the social media post, “But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!”
The president said he will charge Rep. Riley Moore, R-WVa., along with Appropriations Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., “to immediately look into this matter, and report back to me.”
The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries,” Trump stated, adding: “We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!”
Members of Congress and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) also had sought to designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced legislation in September that would require the Trump administration to adopt the CPC designation in addition to imposing targeted sanctions against Nigerian government officials who facilitate or permit jihadist attacks against Christians and other religious minorities.
Republican Senators Ted Budd of North Carolina, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and James Lankford of Oklahoma endorsed redesignating Nigeria in a Sept. 12 letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Budd posted on X.
Similarly, the USCIRF also recommended the State Department designate Nigeria as a CPC in its latest update on religious freedom in the country in late July.
USCIRF Chair Vicky Hartzler welcomed the designation on social media: “We applaud @POTUS for making Nigeria a CPC.” Hartzler said, “The Trump admin can now use the various presidential actions outlined in IRFA to incentivize Nigeria to protect its citizens and hold perpetrators accountable.”
ADF Senior Counsel Sean Nelson told CNA, “We at Alliance Defending Freedom International are deeply grateful for President Trump’s recognition of the grave persecution of Christians ongoing in Nigeria and worldwide.”
Nelson added, “We hope that the Country of Particular Concern designation moves Nigerian officials to stop the denials and work strenuously to end the religious persecution happening in so much of the country.”
Trump’s announcement to move forward with the CPC designation comes amid the ongoing government shutdown that has left legislation on the matter in limbo.
Moore, who was a staff member and national security adviser for the House Foreign Affairs Committee before being elected to Congress, celebrated the designation on social media, writing: “Thank you @POTUS for your incredible leadership by designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern. You have always been a champion for Christians around the world, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with you and Chairman Cole @houseappropsgop to defend our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being slaughtered by radical Islamists in Nigeria.”
This story was updated on Oct. 31, 2025, at 5:35 p.m. ET.
Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/267517/breaking-trump-says-he-will-designate-nigeria-country-of-particular-concern
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