Hope for Christians in Nigeria

On October 31, 2025, President Donald Trump made an announcement that he was designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). And since I don’t know how to make captions show up under photos, the cover photo for this article is U.S. Representative Riley Moore — a brother in Christ — declaring his commitment to persecuted Christians around the world at the CPAC conference on fighting Christian persecution that took place the day before, Thursday, October 30.

What does this mean? The Countries of Particular Concern list was a provision of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) that became law in 1998. Countries that fail to protect their persecuted and vulnerable minority peoples of faith are placed on this list. The worst place for a country to be is the notorious Tier 1, opening it up to a menu of options available to the President of the United States.

Now the President can once again (Nigeria had previously been so designated, but President Joe Biden’s Administration removed the designation) use these options to pressure Nigeria’s government into actions that will protect Christians. Sometimes it only takes the threat of being listed as a CPC to get a nation to change its behavior. But in this case, after decades and decades of Christian slaughter and genocide, with no help from the government and even pretty good evidence that the government has been complicit, Nigeria has gone straight to the ‘baddest of the bad guys’ tier.

Here’s what President Trump said upon announcing the designation:

Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. 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. When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done! I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, 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. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!

Note, as well, that the President referred to “Nigeria, and numerous other Countries.” And he added “We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World The next day, President Trump followed up his statement with an even stronger one:

If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, “guns-a-blazing,” to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities. I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST! *

Over the last month or so, the atrocious human rights violations against Nigerian Christians has become much more well known. That is thanks to comedian/television host Bill Maher. The freshly-informed are demanding “why isn’t ‘anyone’ talking about this”? But the persecution and slaughter of Christians in Nigeria has been going on for decades. I am grateful to all my fellow advocates, and to the great U.S. Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ). Mr. Smith’s resolution urging the CPC designation was the only hope we had prior to President Trump’s announcement.

Many of us who have cared about Nigeria for years are rejoicing. Not just in the CPC designation. We are encouraged by the obvious determination of President Trump, Congressman Riley Moore, former Congressman Mark Walker — the President’s nominee to be Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, and others in our government to defend persecuted Christians. First defense: Nigeria, and also, please, Sudan.

*For those Christians whose sensibilities are outraged by President Trump’s declaration to go into Nigeria “with guns blazing” if they don’t stop the jihadists from slaughtering Christians, what then would you say to your brothers and sisters in Nigeria? In Sudan? when they are being shot, when they are put into cages and burned alive? when they are chopped into pieces with a machete? I hope and pray that we see a similar strong defense for both Christians and Muslims — because in Sudan the genocide is against all those of Black African ethnicity.

Here’s my video thank you to President Trump . . . and to Bill Maher.