President Donald Trump declared Nigeria a “country of particular concern” Oct. 31, answering calls from Catholic and other leaders for the U.S. government to confront the persecution of Christians there.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump said in a strongly worded statement posted to Truth Social. “I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN’...”
“But that is the least of it,” Trump continued. “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 went on to call on Rep. Riley Moore, R-W. Va., and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. 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 concluded. “We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!”
— JD Vance (@JDVance) October 31, 2025
Trump’s announcement comes amid a growing chorus of calls for action against Nigerian extremist groups.
A coalition of more than 30 American religious freedom advocates sent a letter to the President in October urging him to name Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
“U.S. law warrants CPC designation when a country is found to be ‘tolerating’ serious violations of religious freedom, as well as when itself carries out violation,” the letter stated. “The Nigerian government is directly violating religious freedom by enforcing Islamic blasphemy laws that carry the death penalty and harsh prison sentences against citizens of various religions.”
CatholicVote President Kelsey Reinhardt was among those who signed the letter. “As Catholics committed to religious freedom, we cannot ignore Nigeria’s rapid descent into a killing ground for Christians,” she said in a statement after the letter was sent.
“This is not ‘communal violence,’” she later added. “It is systematic persecution against Christians. A government that refuses to protect its Christian population — or worse, enables their attackers — must be held accountable.”
Truth at last! President Trump has designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern due to the slaughter of more than 52,000 Christians and attacks on more than 20,000 churches by Islamic terrorist. This is an important step in putting a stop to the bloodshed. CatholicVote… https://t.co/KAnidufuru
— Kelsey (Wicks) Reinhardt (@catholickelsey) October 31, 2025
One of the leading voices in Congress speaking up for persecuted Nigerian Christians has been Moore, a Catholic.
CatholicVote commended Moore in April after he “publicly advocated for persecuted Christians and the sanctity of life, calling attention to brutal violence against Christians worldwide in his first speech on the House floor.”
“Today,” he said in the speech, “I rise to address a grave and urgent crisis: the rampant persecution of Christians in Africa and the Middle East. Across these regions, our brothers and sisters in faith experience violence, displacement, and death for their belief in our Lord Jesus Christ. No person or community should ever face such brutal conditions for acknowledging the name of Jesus.”
Moore and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., brought a resolution to Congress in July asking Trump to take action on behalf of the persecuted in a number of countries, including Nigeria.
The resolution condemned “the persecution of Christians in several Muslim-majority countries and [urged] the US government to prioritize religious freedom in its foreign policy,” CatholicVote reported at the time.
Hawley and Moore issued a joint press release about the resolution.
“Our country was founded on religious liberty,” Hawley said in the release. “We cannot sit on the sidelines as Christians around the world are being persecuted for declaring Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We must condemn these heinous crimes.”