According to US Senator Ted Cruz, Nigerian officials are participating in what he called the country’s mass murder of Christians.
During a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing on the US counterterrorism policy in Africa on Tuesday, Cruz made this assertion.
As stated by the legislator, Nigeria has the largest number of Christians killed worldwide because of their beliefs. He asserted that since 2009, over 20,000 churches, schools, and other religious institutions have been destroyed, and over 50,000 Christians have been slain.
Cruz stated, “Unfortunately, Nigerian officials had been complicit in facilitating these atrocities.”
He criticized Nigerian authorities for what he called a tardy response to the nation’s security issues and blamed some of the violence on the application of Sharia law in a number of northern regions.
Cruz also mentioned a prior meeting with Nigerian security and defense officials, claiming that their promises to put an end to the violence had not yet produced noticeable outcomes.
“I informed them that I would assess their dedication based on the outcomes. Those outcomes have not yet materialized,” he stated.
The Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, which the senator introduced in October, aims to make Nigerian government officials responsible for their involvement in attacks on Christians.
Cruz asked Nick Checker, a senior official at the US State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, at the hearing if the two nations’ interactions had yielded significant results, especially in light of US President Donald Trump’s activities.
Checker responded by stating that since the designation went into force, Nigeria has demonstrated some cooperation with US requests, highlighting modifications to the nation’s security architecture.
He stated, “We’ve seen some positive movements, including leadership changes in Nigerian security services, recruitment of additional troops, and deployment of forest guards to areas affected by violence.”
Additionally, Checker alluded to the creation of a bilateral high-level working group after discussions between US Under-Secretary of State Allison Hooker and Nigeria’s National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
He continued by saying that continued cooperation between the two nations is shown in the US’s recent backing for Nigerian security forces.
Checker stated, “We’ve seen positive steps by the Nigerians, but certainly more can be done,” adding that the US would keep pushing for additional action.
