United States senator Ted Cruz has vowed to push new legislation targeting officials who enforce Sharia and blasphemy laws in Nigeria, following former President Donald Trump’s decision to once again classify the country as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC).
Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas, said in a statement on his official website that the move reflects his long-standing campaign to defend Christians allegedly facing persecution in Nigeria.
“I am deeply gratified to President Trump for making this determination,” he said. “I have fought for years to counter the slaughter and persecution of Christians in Nigeria, and this year introduced legislation that will lock in the designation made today.”
Cruz revealed that his proposed bill would impose sanctions on Nigerian officials accused of supporting or enforcing blasphemy and Sharia laws.
“Today’s designation is a critical step in holding accountable and changing the behavior of Nigerian officials who have facilitated and created an environment conducive to the outrages in Nigeria,” he added.
Trump, announcing the redesignation on his Truth Social platform, alleged that “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria.”
He claimed that “thousands of Christians are being killed by radical Islamists,” and said he had directed lawmakers, including Representatives Riley Moore and Tom Cole, to investigate the situation.
“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria,” Trump said. “We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world.”
Blasphemy Laws Under Scrutiny
Sharia law operates in 12 northern Nigerian states, mostly among Muslim populations. Rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly condemned the use of blasphemy laws, citing mob killings and death sentences handed down by religious courts.
Several violent incidents have drawn global attention — from the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto to the 2024 lynching of a butcher in Bauchi, and most recently, the murder of a cleric in Kano over alleged blasphemy.
When the U.S. first placed Nigeria on the CPC list in 2020, the administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari dismissed the designation as “misinformed” and driven by “pressure groups with a narrow religious agenda.”
The government insisted that it guarantees freedom of worship under the 1999 Constitution.
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