A major diplomatic row is brewing between Nigeria and the United States as the US Congress considers a bill seeking to impose sanctions on 12 northern governors, traditional rulers, and senior judges accused of complicity in what American lawmakers describe as “Christian genocide” and religious persecution under Nigeria’s Sharia and blasphemy laws.
The development follows US President, Donald Trump’s, recent decision to redesignate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)” for alleged systemic violations of religious freedom.
In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump lamented what he called the “mass killing of Christians” in Nigeria and directed Congressman Riley Moore, Chairman Tom Cole, and the House Appropriations Committee to investigate and report back to him immediately.
“Thousands of Christians are being killed in Nigeria. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. America cannot fold its hands while these atrocities continue,” Trump said.
At the heart of the controversy is a bill titled the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, sponsored by Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
The bill formally designates Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern and seeks direct sanctions against public officials and religious authorities accused of promoting or tolerating attacks on Christians and other religious minorities.
Under the proposal, the US Secretary of State would, within 90 days of the bill’s passage, submit a list of Nigerian officials, including governors, judges, and monarchs, who have “promoted, enacted, or maintained blasphemy laws” or “tolerated violence by non-state actors invoking religious justification.”
Those named could face penalties under Executive Order 13818, the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability framework, including visa bans, asset freezes, and financial restrictions.
Northern States In Focus
The bill targets states where Sharia-based penal codes have been enacted, beginning with Zamfara State under then-Governor Ahmad Sani Yerima in 1999.
Within two years, 11 other northern states, Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kebbi, Yobe, Kaduna, Niger, and Gombe, adopted similar Sharia legal frameworks.
The system expanded Sharia’s jurisdiction from personal and family law to criminal and public morality, creating parallel Islamic courts alongside secular ones.
In contrast, states like Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, and Adamawa still operate under conventional law, restricting Sharia to personal matters such as marriage, inheritance, and family disputes.
Tensions flared recently when the Supreme Council for Sharia announced plans to set up offices in Oyo and Ogun States, both in southern Nigeria.
The announcement triggered public uproar and clashes between Muslim and Christian groups before the council clarified that the move was to establish arbitration panels for Muslim-related disputes, not formal Sharia courts.
While defending the bill before the Senate, Senator Cruz accused Nigerian authorities of turning a blind eye to religious violence and institutionalising discriminatory laws.
He said, “Religious persecution and violence against Christians and other minorities in Nigeria is endemic.
“Since 2009, over 52,000 Christians have been murdered, 20,000 churches and faith institutions destroyed, and dozens of villages wiped out. The federal and state governments have failed to act, and in many cases, they are complicit.”
The senator alleged that the implementation of Sharia law since 2000 had emboldened extremist groups and legalised persecution under the guise of religious morality.
The proposed US legislation also criticises Nigeria’s blasphemy provisions, which exist in nearly all northern legal codes.
States such as Kano, Bauchi, Sokoto, and Katsina have drawn global attention for issuing death sentences over alleged blasphemy, including cases involving minors and musicians accused of “insulting Islam.”
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