President Trump on Friday designated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” citing the widespread killings and persecution of Christians.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria,” Trump posted to Truth Social. “Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a “COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN” — But that is the least of it.”
Mr Trump had directed Rep. Riley Moore, R-W. Va., Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., and members of the House Appropriations Committee to investigate the situation and report their findings to him.
“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries,” Trump said. “We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!”
The situation for Christians in Nigeria has reached an alarming level. Entire villages have been burned to the ground, worshipers killed during Sunday services, and thousands displaced by Islamist groups sweeping through the country’s northern and central regions.
In June, militants attacked the village of a bishop, just days after he testified before Congress about Christian persecution, leaving more than twenty people dead. Similar assaults in Plateau and Benue states have killed hundreds this year alone, with survivors describing how gunmen shouted “Allahu Akbar” as they torched churches and homes.
According to the international watchdog group Open Doors, nearly 70% of all Christians killed for their faith worldwide last year were in Nigeria. The group warns that Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Fulani militant herders are responsible for most of the bloodshed, often targeting Christian farmers in the country’s Middle Belt. Rights organizations estimate that thousands of believers are murdered every year, while countless others are forced to flee.
Mark Walker, President Trump’s ambassador-designate for International Religious Freedom, told Fox News Digital that the United States must do what it can to pressure Nigeria’s government to act.
“Even being conservative, it’s probably 4,000 to 8,000 Christians killed annually,” Walker said. “This has been going on for years — from ISWAP to Islamist Fulani ethnic militias — and the Nigerian government has to be much more proactive.”
