A senior official in the administration of Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has called out some US lawmakers over their push to have the US State Department re-designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

The CPC designation is one that may be used under US law to identify any country deemed by the US Secretary of State to practice “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.”

The US designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern in December of 2020, in the lame duck period of current US President Donald Trump’s first term in office. The Biden administration removed the African country from the CPC list on November 17, 2021, one day after the then-US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Nigeria.

A number of US lawmakers are now calling on the current US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to restore Nigeria’s CPC status.

Congressman Riley M. Moore (R, WV-02) is the latest US lawmaker to make that call, following continued reports of attacks on Christians in Nigeria that some observers have described as genocidal.

“Jihadist violence continues to escalate in Nigeria, and Christians are particularly at risk from targeted attacks by Islamist militants, including Fulani fighters, Boko Haram and ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province),” says Christian persecution watchdog, Open Doors.

The most recent report by the leading Nigerian-based NGO, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety) indicates that at least 7,087 Christians were massacred across Nigeria in the first 220 days of 2025—a daily average of 32 Christians killed per day.

Issued on August 10 2025, the Intersociety report claims nearly 8,000 people have been kidnapped on account of their Christian faith.

Emeka Umeagbalasi, the leader of the Intersociety group, attributes these killings and abductions to approximately 22 jihadist organizations that have established a presence in the West African nation, including Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, and Jihadist Fulani herdsmen.

The report says these groups intend to eliminate an estimated 112 million Christians and 13 million followers of traditional religions in Nigeria.

It suggests the overarching goal is the eradication of Christianity from Nigeria within the next 50 years. Umeagbalasi told Crux the  ambition can be likened to the 19th-century jihad conducted by Fulani herdsmen, which founded the Sokoto Caliphate, a formidable Islamic state that once governed most of what is now northern Nigeria.

“The Sultan of Sokoto is recognized as Nigeria’s most senior Islamic authority today,” he said.

Earlier data from Intersociety showed that more than 185,000 Nigerians have been killed since 2009, including 125,009 Christians and 60,000 individuals described as “liberal Muslims,” an identification indicating almost anyone who does not share the views espoused by the various Jihadi organizations.

Additionally, 19,100 churches have been destroyed, over 1,100 Christian communities displaced, and 20,000 square miles of land belonging to largely Christian communities have been annexed. Additionally, more than 600 Christian clerics, among them 250 Catholic priests and 350 pastors, have also been abducted, with dozens subsequently killed.

“This is genocide, pure and simple,”Umeagbalasi told Crux.

On October 6, Moore wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the U.S. government to “take immediate action” against what he called the “systematic persecution and slaughter of Christians” in Nigeria, citing various reports that detail the killing of Christians in Africa’s most populous country.

The Congressman called on the US government to suspend all U.S. arms sales and technical support to the Nigerian government until it takes steps to protect religious minorities.

“Nigeria has become the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian,” Moore said in a statement.

 “This year, a priest was kidnapped and killed on Ash Wednesday, and 54 Christians were killed on Palm Sunday. More than 7,000 have been killed this year alone,” he said.

Arguing that Nigerian Christians are being executed for their faith and forced to submit to sharia and blasphemy laws, US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas in September of this year introduced what he called the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, a bill designed to pressure the Trump administration to officially label Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

The measure also aims to punish Nigerian government officials who facilitate or permit jihadist violence against religious minorities by imposing targeted sanctions.

 “It is long past time to impose real costs on the Nigerian officials who facilitate these activities, and my Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act uses new and existing tools to do exactly that,” Cruz said. “I urge my colleagues to advance this critical legislation expeditiously,” he added.

Umeagbalasi told Crux there has been an Islamization agenda and that various government departments have been permeated by people working to turn Nigeria into an Islamic state.

Public officials in Nigeria are in any case at odds with the US lawmakers pushing for a CPC designation for Nigeria.

Dada Olusegun –Tinubu’s Special Assistant took to his X account to argue that the US legislators were “ignorant “of what’s happening in Nigeria.

“Firstly let me say, Congressman Riley. You are ignorant, if not, more ignorant than Ted Cruz about Nigeria,” Olusegun wrote.

“Secondly, Nigeria is a proud, sovereign nation built on the faith and resilience of its people,” Olusegun also wrote. “Here, no faith is under siege, no community is excluded,” He continued. “Our churches, mosques, and traditional shrines stand side by side – not as rivals, but as symbols of the unity that binds us.”

The Nigerian Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris issued a statement, describing the accusations of Christian persecution in Nigeria as “a gross misrepresentation of reality.”

He said terrorist groups target people of all faiths.

“The violent activities of terrorist groups are not confined to any particular religious or ethnic community. These criminals target all who reject their murderous ideology, regardless of faith. Muslims, Christians, and even those who do not identify with any religion have suffered at their hands,” he said.

The Nigerian Senate has also weighed in, and introduced a motion titled “Urgent Need to Correct Misconceptions Regarding the Purported ‘Christian Genocide’ Narrative in Nigeria and International Communities.”

Sponsored by  Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (Borno South) and co-sponsored by Senators Sani Musa (Niger East), Magatakarda Wamako (Sokoto North), Ibrahim Bomai (Yobe South), Ahmed Aliyu Wadada (Nasarawa West), and several others, the motion seeks to correct what it describes as “dangerous misrepresentations” of the country’s security challenges as a campaign of “Christian genocide.”

The motion explains that Nigeria remains a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation whose unity depends on responsible communication and accurate representation of facts.

It expressed concern that certain foreign media outlets, advocacy groups, and religious networks have amplified the “Christian genocide” narrative without adequate verification.

“The Senate notes that Nigeria has in recent years faced serious security challenges, including terrorism, insurgency, banditry, communal conflicts, and targeted attacks, which have affected citizens across various religious, ethnic, and regional backgrounds, resulting in loss of lives and property among both Christian and Muslim communities,” the motion states.