The Federal Government has rejected the designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” by President Donald Trump.
A press statement on Saturday morning by Kimiebi Ebienfa, Spokesperson,Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reads:
“The Federal Government of Nigeria notes the recent remarks by U.S. President Donald J. Trump alleging large-scale killings of Christians in Nigeria and calling for the country’s designation as a “Country of Particular Concern.”
“While Nigeria appreciates global concern for human rights and religious freedom, these claims do not reflect the situation on the ground. Nigerians of all faiths have long lived, worked, and worshipped together peacefully.
“Under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria remains committed to fighting terrorism, strengthening interfaith harmony, and protecting the lives and rights of all its people.
“Nigeria will continue to engage constructively with the Government of the United States to deepen mutual understanding of regional dynamics and the country’s ongoing peace and security efforts.”
The statement comes on the heels of President Donald Trump erroneously declaring Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern’ in response to allegations of a Christian genocide in the country.
Trump announced his decision in a Truth Social post on Friday, which was shared on the White House’s X handle.
The Family Research Council in 2022, says that declaring a country a “country of particular concern” is an official designation typically made by the US government, primarily the Secretary of State, under specific US laws.
The exact meaning and implications of the designation depend on the specific legislation applied, but it generally indicates that the country engages in activities detrimental to US interests or universal human rights.
In the post, Donald Trump wrote, “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, are 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.”
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Trump further said that the US is willing to save Christians in Nigeria and other countries from what he described as “atrocities” bedeviling them to save the population around the world.
“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!” his post added.
It was reported how a US lawmaker, Riley Moore, urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take immediate diplomatic action over what he described as the “systematic persecution and slaughter of Christians” in Nigeria, which he called the deadliest place in the world for followers of the faith.
In Moore’s October 6 statement, the lawmaker called for Nigeria’s redesignation as a Country of Particular Concern, CPC, and for the suspension of arms sales until the Nigerian government demonstrates a “tangible commitment” to ending the violence.
“Nigeria has become the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian, and the United States cannot stand idly by,” Moore wrote.
Citing figures from Open Doors and other reports, he claimed that more than 7,000 Christians had been killed in 2025 alone and that “at least 19,100 churches have been attacked or destroyed since 2009.”
“In states such as Kano, regional governments have closed Christian orphanages and forced the children to be reeducated as Muslims,” he wrote, also citing harsh anti-blasphemy laws that include long prison sentences for “insulting the Prophet Mohammed.”
While acknowledging that Nigerians of all faiths face terrorism, Moore said Christians “are far and away the most targeted for persecution and violence.”
He claimed that Nigeria “is the headquarters of no less than 22 Islamic terror groups with links to ISIS and other broader networks,” stressing that “the attempt to diminish these facts does not speak well of the Nigerian government.”
He urged Rubio to “use all diplomatic tools available,” including halting military support, adding that the Biden administration’s reversal of Nigeria’s CPC designation “was a mistake.”
Moore said, “The moment demands that the administration take strong action without delay. This must end.”
Moore’s post followed similar remarks by US Senator Ted Cruz, who in late September alleged that Nigerian officials were “ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists.”
Ceedible News recalls that a Plateau-based cleric and regional leader of the Church of Christ in Nations, Evangelist Ezekiel Dachomo, had published a video showing the mass burial of victims of a recent attack in Heipang community near Jos.
Dachomo, in an interview, spoke on the circumstances surrounding the clip, the repeated killings in Plateau communities, government inaction, and his call for global intervention to stop what he insists is the genocide of Christians in the country.
The priest said he made the video for record-keeping purposes so that future generations will be able to see how they were terrorized and persecuted. He said:
“The video is also evidence that a Christian genocide is going on in the North. The purpose is to help both present and future generations stand firm in Christ despite persecution and terror. It is also meant to guide them in soul-winning. If they don’t have a record that strengthens their faith, they may give up.
“This is what we are facing, and we have now resorted to self-defence; otherwise, the name of Jesus will not be mentioned again in our land. I want the world to know that we are going through the worst, as Jesus said, ‘You will be persecuted’. We are keeping records of what we are passing through, just as the Bible records what Christians endured.
“The incident happened last Thursday in Heipang, Jos, Plateau State. There is an airport there, and some Muslims have been trying to take control of the place. The village has been attacked several times because of this. On that fateful day, Fulani herdsmen invaded the village and killed 11 people. We rushed to the scene; children were butchered without conscience, yet the Nigerian government denied Christian genocide. We made the video to prove them wrong.”
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said that some US lawmakers are relying on inaccurate and misleading data to allege a so-called Christian genocide in Nigeria.
Idris described the claims by some foreign officials as “misleading and unreflective” of Nigeria’s complex security realities.
“Some of the claims made by officials of the United States are based on faulty data and the assumption that victims of violence are largely Christians.
“Yes, there are Christians being attacked, but these criminals do not target one religion; they attack both Christians and Muslims, especially in the northern part of the country,” Idris said.
The minister warned that promoting such narratives could inadvertently embolden criminal groups whose goal is to incite religious tension and fuel animosity between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.
Crediblenewsng.com
