President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, yesterday announced that he is designating Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” citing alleged killings of Christians.
Trump said Christianity faces a threat in Nigeria and that he was adding the country to a State Department watch list, which includes China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, and Pakistan, among others, according to the State Department website. “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.” The US President emphasised that action must be taken when people are persecuted for their faith. Trump said he has directed Rep.
Riley Moore, RW. 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 in Nigeria has reached an alarming level.
Entire villages have been burned to the ground, worshipers killed during services, and thou- sands 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 20 people dead. Designating a “country of particular concern” under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act is an executive prerogative that normally follows recommendations from both the congressionally mandated U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and the State Department.
The State Department usually releases its annual Report on International Religious Freedom in the spring, but has not yet done so this year.
The report may or may not include “particular concern” designations, which can be done at any time. And, such designations, which authorise U.S. penalties, do not necessarily impose sanctions.
The State Department’s most recent religious freedom reports cover 2023 and were released last year under the Biden administration. These reports, like others on broader human rights and human trafficking, cover the previous calendar year and are often late in being submitted.
