US designates Nigeria 'Country of Particular Concern' after Trump threat over alleged attacks on Christians

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

59% : President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attend a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, October 9, 2025.According to the State Department, the International Religious Freedom Act requires an annual review of the status of religious freedom worldwide and the designation of countries that have “engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom” during the reporting period.The IRFA defines particularly severe violations of religious freedom as "systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom, including violations such as torture, degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged detention without charges, abduction or clandestine detention, or other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of persons," according to the State Department.
51% : Extremist violence in the country "affects large numbers of Christians and Muslims in several states across Nigeria," the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom found in 2024.
47% : After a country has been designated a CPC by the secretary of state, Congress is then notified, and where non-economic policy options designed to bring about cessation of the particularly severe violations of religious freedom have reasonably been exhausted, an economic measure generally must be imposed, the State Department states.Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens as President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 27, 2025.Congress will investigateTrump called on Rep. Riley Moore, a Republican from West Virginia, to lead an investigation into the alleged slaughtering of Christians in Nigeria.
44% : U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz thanked Minaj for "using your platform to speak out in defense of the Christians being persecuted in Nigeria."
38% : Biden Secretary of State Antony Blinken removed Nigeria from the CPC designation list in November 2021 after assessing it did not meet the criteria a formal designation of concern regarding "systematic, ongoing, and egregious" violations of religious freedom.The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom blasted the move at the time and said the decision to remove Nigeria from the special designation was "unexplainable" and appalling.
37% : Last month, he called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern.Moore applauded Trump's move over the weekend and said he and House Appropriations Committee chairman Tom Cole, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee would investigate the alleged religious persecution.In August, GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas introduced a bill calling for sanctions against Nigeria for purported violations of religious freedom and to designate Nigeria as a CPC.In March 2025, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa held a hearing to discuss "Conflict and Persecution in Nigeria" and the case for designating Nigeria a CPC.
35% : The State Department on Monday officially updated its designation for Nigeria as a "Country of Particular Concern" for its alleged severe violations of religious freedom and persecution of Christians.
28% : The CPC label is given by the U.S. government to nations "engaged in severe violations of religious freedom" under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

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