As violence against Nigerian Christians continues to surge, one American senator is pressing Nigerian officials to protect their people from persecution. “Officials in Nigeria are ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists,” Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) charged in a social media post Friday, highlighting news of 5,000 Nigerians fleeing their home country for neighboring Cameroon in the face of attacks by jihadist militia Boko Haram. “It’s time to hold those responsible accountable,” Cruz said, touting new legislation. “My Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act would target these officials with powerful sanctions and other tools.”
Cruz’s legislation would require the secretary of State to identify Nigerian government officials who have “promoted, enacted, or maintained Nigerian blasphemy laws, including through public advocacy, legislative action, or executive enforcement directives” or “tolerated violence by non-state actors invoking religious justifications to commit acts of violence.” The legislation would also designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act and impose sanctions on the country and its government officials.
“Nigeria’s federal government and a dozen state governments enforce blasphemy laws in their criminal and sharia codes, and they ignore or facilitate mob violence targeting Christians,” Cruz explained to Fox News this week. “Since 2009, over 50,000 Christians in Nigeria have been massacred, and over 20,000 churches and Christian schools have been destroyed,” Cruz recounted. “These atrocities are directly linked to the policies of Nigerian federal and state officials. They are the result of decisions made by specific people, in specific places, at specific times — and it says a great deal about who is lashing out now that a light is being shone on these issues,” he continued. “The United States knows who those people are, and I intend to hold them accountable.”
Nigerian Minister of Information Mohammed Idris contested Cruz’s assertions. “The Nigerian government rejects that. This is certainly not true,” Idris said. “This is not true. This is not the reflection of what is on the ground. I mean it’s false where you say over 20,000 churches have been burned. It’s also false if you say 52,000 (Christians killed), where did he get those numbers from? I think this is absolutely absurd,” he continued. “The Nigerian government rejects that. No Nigerian officials will willingly, deliberately indulge in the act of siding with violent extremists to target any particular religion in this country. This is absolutely false,” Idris insisted.
“Nigeria is a multi-faith country, meaning that it’s a country that has multiple religions. We have Christians, we have Muslims, we even have those who don’t believe in any of these two religions. Nigeria is a very tolerant country,” the minister of Information stated. “The government of Nigeria is committed to ensuring that there is religious freedom in this country, but we do have extremist organizations in this country,” he added. “It’s unfortunate, sadly, that some of these extremists have killed a number of Christians and a number of Muslims almost everywhere where this violent extremism has support.” Idris characterized Cruz’s comments as “not true. We find that to be very unfortunate. It’s despicable, it’s not right. This is absolutely false to say that there is a calculated or a deliberate attempt to kill a particular religious group, is not correct, and we find that really very, very unfortunate.”
However, a report from the Nigerian non-governmental organization Intersociety did in fact state that over 50,000 Christians have been murdered by Islamist extremists in the country since 2009.
In March, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins petitioned Congress to designate Nigeria as a CPC due to the ongoing violent persecution of Christians there. “In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, vicious attacks and bloodshed continue to surge, week after week, month after month. Christians are the primary targets of this terrorism, facing murders, rapes, kidnappings, and constant threats,” Perkins testified. While much of the violence against Nigerian Christians is perpetrated by jihadist militants like Boko Haram or Fulani herdsmen, Perkins observed, “The Nigerian government is not off the hook simply because non-state actors are the primary drivers of religious persecution. The government has a duty to protect all its citizens and their basic right to religious freedom, regardless of their faith.” Calling for Nigeria to be deemed a CPC, he added, “By failing to adequately address — and indeed making minimal efforts to address — routine and targeted violence against Christians, the Nigerian government certainly qualifies for this designation.”
FRC’s Center for Religious Liberty has also noted the Nigerian government’s complicity in the persecution of Christians. “In addition to the violence perpetrated by non-state actors, Nigeria’s federal government has continued to enforce strict blasphemy laws that limit religious freedom. These laws are found in the 12 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, where Sharia penal codes have been adopted,” FRC reported in June. “These penal codes directly undermine the Nigerian Constitution, which clearly protects an individual’s right to practice their own religion and prohibits the establishment of an official state religion. These blasphemy laws limit the religious freedom of not only Christians but also Muslims and followers of other indigenous religions.”
In comments to The Washington Stand, Arielle Del Turco, director of the Center for Religious Liberty at FRC, commended Cruz for speaking out against the ongoing genocide of Christians in Nigeria.
“Senator Cruz’s comments clearly struck a nerve with the Nigerian government, and they should,” she remarked. “The Nigerian government should be deeply ashamed of the way they have negligently refused to protect Christian communities from repeated attacks by radical Islamists who burn entire villages and kill innocent Christians in the middle of the night. This is an ongoing travesty, and one that I’m so glad Senator Cruz is trying to address. President Trump should enact the recommendation in Cruz’s bill and label Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern on religious freedom.”
