US Senator James Lankford (R-OK) has joined fellow Senate Republicans, including Ted Budd (R-NC), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Ted Cruz (R-TX), in urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act. The senators argue that Nigeria remains one of the most dangerous countries for Christians, with ongoing violence and persecution.
In their letter, the senators criticized the Biden administration’s previous decision to remove Nigeria from the CPC list. They pointed to recent attacks on Christians in Nigeria as evidence that religious minorities continue to face serious threats. “Most recently, in late June 2025, reports suggest that at least 200 Christians in Nigeria were brutally killed by terrorists in Benue state. This same report suggests that Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be Christian, citing 3,100 of the 4,476 Christians killed during their reporting period lived in Nigeria.”
The letter also referenced past actions by US officials regarding religious freedom in Nigeria. In December 2020, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated Nigeria as a CPC due to severe violations of religious freedom committed mainly by nonstate actors such as Boko Haram and other terrorist groups. However, Secretary Antony Blinken removed this designation in 2021.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended reinstating Nigeria’s CPC status on March 25, 2025. The commission cited several incidents involving violence against religious minorities over the past year: al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansaru gunmen reportedly kidnapped 160 mainly Christian children and killed eight people in Niger State; suspected bandits killed ten farmers including Christians; and separate attacks resulted in seventy Christians being killed and twenty students kidnapped.
The senators’ letter also mentioned President Trump’s May 1, 2025 executive order establishing a Religious Liberty Commission aimed at enforcing protections for religious liberty and working with relevant federal offices to promote these freedoms internationally.
They recalled President Trump’s September 23, 2019 call for nations worldwide to end religious persecution: “Today with one clear voice, the United States of America calls upon the nations of the world to end religious persecution. To stop crimes against people of faith, release prisoners of conscience, repeal laws restricting freedom of religion and belief…America stands with believers in every country who ask only for the freedom to live according to the faith that is within their own hearts.”
The senators expressed appreciation for efforts supporting religious freedoms both domestically and abroad. They concluded by urging Secretary Rubio to consider returning Nigeria to CPC status under IRFA.
