US President
Donald Trump has condemned what he described as the mass killing of Christians
in Nigeria, declaring the country a “country of particular concern” and vowing
immediate action.
In remarks shared through the
official White House communication channels, Trump said radical Islamist groups
were responsible for the “mass slaughter” of Christians in Nigeria, calling the
situation an “existential threat” to Christianity.
“Christianity is facing an
existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands and thousands of Christians are being
killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump said.
He added that the United States
could not remain passive as religious violence continues in Nigeria and other
countries.
“I am hereby making Nigeria a country
of particular concern. That is a legal definition. When Christians or any such
group is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria, 3,100 versus 4,476
worldwide, what horrible numbers. Something has to be done,” he said.
Trump directed Congressman Riley
Moore and Chairman Tom Cole, together with the House Appropriations Committee,
to look into the matter “immediately” and report back with recommendations.
“The United States cannot stand by
while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria and numerous other countries,”
he said.
“We stand ready, willing and able to
save our great Christian population around the world. The killing of Christians
is not going to happen.”
Human rights organisations have in recent years documented
rising violence in parts of Nigeria’s north and central regions, where attacks
by armed groups and extremist factions such as Boko Haram and Islamic
State–West Africa Province (ISWAP) have targeted both Christians and Muslims.
The designation of Nigeria as a
“country of particular concern” under US law typically triggers increased
diplomatic attention and, in some cases, sanctions or restrictions intended to
pressure governments to address violations of religious freedom.
The Nigerian government has
consistently denied allegations of targeted persecution of Christians,
insisting that ongoing insecurity affects all communities regardless of
religion.
According to BBC, Nigerian security
analyst Christian Ani said that while Christians had been attacked as part of a
broader strategy of creating terror, it was not possible to justify claims that
Christians were deliberately being targeted.
Looking at deaths in 2025, 2023
report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law
(InterSociety) found that between January and August just over 7,000 Christians
were killed.
InterSociety includes a list of 70 media reports as some of the sources to its findings on the attacks against Christians in 2025.
But in about half of these cases, the original news stories
did not mention the religious identity of the victims.
The BBC added up the number of deaths from the 70 reports and found that the total was around 3,000 deaths.
Some of the attacks
also appear to be reported more than once.
To explain the shortfall, InterSociety says it also
estimates the number of people it believes have died in captivity and includes
eyewitness testimonies it cannot make public.
