On October 15, 2025, human rights activists and American religious leaders addressed a letter to “Trump” requesting him to designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” due to what they described as the “systematic persecution of Christians” there.
The letter’s authors explained that Nigeria has witnessed a notable increase in violent attacks against Christians in rural areas of the Middle Belt region in recent years, while “the government in Abuja is overlooking these crimes and is not providing protection for the victims.”
The letter stated that Nigerian authorities “are not only inactive but also violate religious freedoms through the application of blasphemy laws that include death sentences and long prison terms,” considering that “this represents official complicity in religious violence.”
The document indicated that U.S. law allows for any country to be designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” if it is proven to tolerate or be involved in serious violations of religious freedoms. It added: “Ignoring what is happening in Nigeria is a silent submission to systematic religious violence.”
The letter bore the signatures of prominent figures, including “Nina Shea,” director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, former Congressman “Frank Wolf,” “Jim Daly,” CEO of Focus on the Family, and “Tony Perkins,” president of the Family Research Council.
The signatories affirmed that more than 7,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria during the first seven months of 2025.
They pointed out that Nigeria was first included on the list of countries violating religious freedoms in the late “Trump” administration, before being removed from the list under former President “Joe Biden” in 2021, considering that “this decision does not reflect reality, as the situation has worsened since then.”
In conclusion, the signatories called on the U.S. administration to use diplomatic and economic tools to protect Christians in Nigeria and ensure their religious freedom, emphasizing: “We must recognize the religious nature of this crisis and stand by our brothers and sisters in Christ.”
