A United States senator, Ted Cruz, has accused Nigerian government officials of complicity in atrocities against Christians, raising the issue during a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing focused on U.S. counterterrorism policy in Africa.
Speaking at the session, Cruz claimed that Nigeria accounts for the highest number of Christians killed globally due to their faith, alleging that over 50,000 Christians have been killed and more than 20,000 churches, schools, and places of worship destroyed since 2009.
“Unfortunately, Nigerian officials have been complicit in facilitating these atrocities,” he said, while also criticizing what he described as a slow response by authorities to worsening insecurity. He linked some of the violence to the implementation of Sharia law in parts of northern Nigeria.
Cruz further disclosed that he introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, aimed at holding Nigerian officials accountable for alleged roles in attacks on Christians.
During the hearing, he questioned a senior official in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, Nick Checker, on whether U.S. engagement with Nigeria had produced tangible improvements, particularly under President Donald Trump.
In response, Checker acknowledged some progress, citing changes in Nigeria’s security architecture, including leadership adjustments, increased troop recruitment, and deployment of forest guards to violence-prone areas. He also referenced enhanced counterterrorism cooperation, including the establishment of a bilateral working group following engagements between U.S. Under Secretary of State Allison Hooker and Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
“We’ve seen positive steps by the Nigerians, but certainly more can be done,” Checker said, noting continued U.S. support for Nigeria’s security efforts.
Meanwhile, former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has rejected claims of targeted religious persecution against Christians in Nigeria, stating that insurgent violence affects both Muslims and Christians.
Speaking during an engagement with students at Abbey College in Cambridge, United Kingdom, Mohammed described allegations of a “Christian genocide” as false.
“It is untrue. It is fake news,” he said, adding that Nigeria’s security challenges are complex and not driven by a deliberate campaign against any religious group.
He argued that militant group Boko Haram has historically killed more Muslims than Christians, noting that the group initially targeted Muslims who embraced Western education.
“At the beginning, the victims of Boko Haram were largely Muslims, not Christians,” he said, explaining that the group’s ideology opposes Western education and moderate Islamic practices.
Mohammed also dismissed claims that banditry in Nigeria is religiously motivated, describing it instead as criminal activity largely affecting people within the same ethnic and religious groups.
“The bandits are Muslims, their victims are Muslims. So how can you now talk about religion? It has nothing to do with religion,” he said.
He emphasized that Nigerians generally coexist peacefully across religious lines, arguing that economic challenges, rather than religion, are the primary source of tension between communities.
Mohammed called for stronger public communication to counter what he described as misleading narratives about religious persecution in Nigeria, insisting that the country maintains a tradition of religious tolerance.