President Trump named Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)” in October 2025 because of the persecution of Christians, which is rampant in the West African country, and the regularly occurring extremist violence.
He tasked Reps. Riley M. Moore (WV-02) and Tom Cole (OK-04) with the job of detailing what exactly is going on over there and what we can do to stop it. On Monday, the congressmen handed in their homework:
📢 President Trump named Nigeria a CPC due to the horrific persecution of Christians & serious security threats the country faces.
— Rep. Riley M. Moore (@RepRileyMoore) February 26, 2026
He asked me to lead the investigation. On Monday, I delivered our report to the White House.@POTUS is reviewing our recommendations. So can you🧵 pic.twitter.com/UG104aLeZl
In a statement posted on Riley’s website, he said that countless hours of work had gone into preparing the report:
This report is the result of months of investigation, including a bipartisan congressional fact finding trip to Nigeria, hearings with expert witnesses, consultations with religious leaders, meetings with Internally Displaced Persons, and engagement with senior Nigerian government officials.
The findings? The allegations are true: Nigeria is a very dangerous place to live if you’re Christian.
After decades of persecution, Nigeria is the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian. Christians are subject to ongoing violent attacks from well-armed Fulani militias and terrorist groups, resulting in the death and murder of tens of thousands of Christians, including pastors and priests, the destruction of thousands of churches and schools, as well as kidnappings. Blasphemy laws in Nigeria's northern states silence speech and dissent, target Christians and minorities, and justify so-called "convictions" without due process.
First, we must be clear about the crisis.
— Rep. Riley M. Moore (@RepRileyMoore) February 26, 2026
Violence and insecurity in Nigeria affects people of all faiths, but Christians bear the overwhelming brunt of the attacks and have suffered in silence for two decades.
Christians are 5 times more likely to be killed than any other… pic.twitter.com/kNp1NC9jGn
Moore's continues:
Christians are 5 times more likely to be killed than any other religious group.
Fulani militias and terrorist groups constantly attack Christians: targeting pastors and priests, burning schools and churches, often on holy days.
They have killed tens of thousands.
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What should the U.S. do to counter extremism and religious persecution in Nigeria? The report made multiple recommendations; here are the key ones:
- Establishing a bilateral U.S.–Nigeria security agreement to protect vulnerable Christian communities and dismantle jihadist networks.
- Withholding certain U.S. funds, pending demonstrable action by the Nigerian government to stop violence against Christians.
- Implementing sanctions and visa restrictions against individuals and groups responsible for or complicit in religious persecution.
- Providing technical support to the Nigerian government to eliminate violence from armed Fulani militias.
- Demanding the repeal of Sharia and blasphemy laws
- Working with international partners including France, Hungary, and the United Kingdom
Nigeria responded to the report, basically saying, “Why, we would never let such things go on here.”
In a statement on Tuesday carried by the Nigerian paper Punch, Nigeria's minister of information and national orientation, Mohammed Idris, stressed that his country has never had a state policy of religious persecution.
"The violence being confronted by our security agencies is not driven by government policy or religious bias, but by complex security threats, including terrorism, organised criminality, and longstanding communal tensions," he said.
These are some concrete steps we can take, but it’s clear that a problem this complex won’t be solved overnight. Trump is right, however, to call out the Nigerians on the world stage and shed light on the persecution of Christians in that country and others.
Too many other leaders would just like to pretend it isn’t happening.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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