President Donald Trump announced that Nigeria is being designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) under the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act, citing the mass killing of Christians in the nation and asserting that Christianity in Nigeria faces an “existential threat.” He publicly stated that “thousands of Christians are being killed” by radical Islamist groups and demanded U.S. congressional oversight via Representative Riley Moore and Representative Tom Cole to investigate the situation.
The CPC list historically targets nations where governments engage in or tolerate “systematic, ongoing, egregious” religious-freedom violations. Nigeria’s addition places it alongside nations like China, North Korea, Russia and Pakistan.