A Washington lawmaker has sponsored legislation calling on the U.S. State Department to advance religious freedom and protect persecuted Christians in Nigeria, telling Military.com that the situation has “gotten significantly worse within the past year.”
President Donald Trump threatened this week to "do things to Nigeria that Nigeria is not going to be happy about" and "go into that now-disgraced country guns-a-blazing” to counter what he and the administration have described as the targeting of Christians by Islamic militants in Africa’s most populous nation.
Trump has called Nigeria a "disgraced country” with a government that "continues to allow the killing of Christians.” On Thursday, the State Department said in a post on X that 80,000 visas belonging to Nigerians and other foreign nationals have been revoked since January.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) introduced H.R. 860, which he said updates and expands H.R. 220—legislation he introduced earlier this year to under law provide congressional guidance “that the State Department can and must take to advance religious freedom and protect persecuted Christians in Nigeria.”
No action was taken with the previous resolution introduced in March and referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
"The legislation supports President Trump’s initiative in combating Christian persecution overseas and provides congressional input for the State Department’s legally authorized actions, such as sanctions, to be used to persuade the Nigerian government to do the right thing,” Smith told Military.com.
“It also puts Nigeria on watch, sending a forceful message that the United States will not tolerate or enable the religious persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in that country, or anywhere else in the world,” he added.
Smith's legislation is co-sponsored by Reps. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL).
Military.com reached out to the State Department and U.S. embassy in Nigeria for comment.
Steps State Department Can Take
Smith and bill co-sponsors highlight some of the actions the State Department can take to mitigate violence in Nigeria, including:
- Providing immediate humanitarian assistance to faith-based groups in Nigeria.
- Conditioning U.S. foreign assistance, including global health programs, to address religious freedom violations and develop strategies for long-term peace and stability.
- Collaborating with the U.S. Department of the Treasury to impose targeted sanctions, visa bans, asset freezes, and other restrictive measures under the Global Magnitsky framework on individuals and entities responsible for egregious religious freedom violations in Nigeria, such as the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore.
- Adding Fulani-Ethnic militias operating in Benue and Plateau States to the Entities of Particular Concern list.
- Reaffirming the United States’ commitment to promoting and protecting religious freedom and human rights worldwide.
“The slaughter of innocent Christians in Nigeria demands a strong response from the United States. … This measure calls for setting verifiable conditions on any U.S. aid going to Nigeria. Nigeria must do more to protect all innocent individuals, including Christians, within its borders,” said Rep. Huizenga in a statement.
Concerns Since 2009
On Nov. 3 the president designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC).
The designation mirrors actions during Trump’s first term. In 2019, the State Department designated Nigeria as a Special Watch List Country. One year later, it was designated as a “CPC” country as government officials say that violent attacks against religious communities in Nigeria “have become tragically commonplace.”
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended such a designation since 2009, due to what they call the Nigerian “government’s engaging and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations.”
“USCIRF applauds President Trump for speaking out on the religious freedom crisis in Nigeria and making Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern,” USCIRF Chair Vicky Hartzler said in a statement. “The U.S. government can now develop a tough plan with Nigeria to ensure that perpetrators of violence are held to account, people of faith are protected, and those held hostage are rescued.”
Nigerian Violence and Remedies
Smith cited various reports about religious violence in Nigeria as impetus for him to elaborate upon his previous legislation.
Figures compiled and published in August by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) claimed that roughly 19,100 churches have been attacked, looted, or shuttered since 2009.
They also suggested that in the first 220 days of 2025, more than 7,000 Christians (an average of 32 per day) were killed across the nation. That adds onto a death toll since 2009 that has reportedly eclipsed 185,000 dating back to 2009—including some 125,000 Christians and 60,000 Muslims accused of being “liberal” or insufficiently radical.
Another 8,000 Christians have also been kidnapped by jihadist groups since approximately 16 years ago.
Smith said he is “optimistic” that H.R. 860 will receive its due consideration in Congress.
"Christians living in Nigeria are living under the unabating threat of murder, rape and torture by radical Islamist terrorist groups, including Boko Haram and Fulani herders,” Smith said. “President Trump’s well-founded action to redesignate Nigeria a ‘Country of Particular Concern’—reversing an incredibly ill-advised decision by the Biden Administration—is a significant stride towards addressing this mounting crisis and eventually achieving lasting peace, stability, and religious freedom in the country.”
