A major diplomatic conflict is intensifying around a pending bill in the United States Congress that seeks to impose extensive sanctions on “twelve northern governors, prominent traditional rulers, and senior judges” in Nigeria.
This proposed action is in response to what American lawmakers have termed a “Christian genocide” and “systemic persecution” allegedly enabled by Nigeria’s sharia and blasphemy laws.
The situation follows the designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) by President Donald Trump, who has instructed the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to “act without delay.”
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On Friday, President Trump used a post on Truth to “lamented that thousands of Christians were being killed in Nigeria” and called on Congressman Riley Moore, Chairman Tom Cole, and the House Appropriations Committee to “immediately look into the matter and report back to him.”
The legislation at the heart of the storm, the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, sponsored by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, officially designates Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) for religious persecution.
The bill aims to apply direct sanctions against public officials and religious authorities accused of either promoting violence or “tolerating violence by non-state actors invoking religious justification” against Christians and other religious minorities.
This move is a re-designation, as the US Department of State first listed Nigeria as a CPC in December 2020 due to what it described as “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom,” including violent attacks and ethno-religious conflicts exacerbated by the judicial system.
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Under the bill, which was introduced on September 9, 2025, the US Secretary of State is required to submit a report to Congress within 90 days of its passage.
This report would list 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.”
These sanctions would be implemented through Executive Order 13818, the US government’s Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability framework, potentially resulting in “visa bans, asset freezes, and financial restrictions” for those identified as culpable.
A main focus of the bill is the implementation of Sharia law in northern Nigeria, which it specifically “termed the blasphemy law” and which is “believed to be against the Christian population.”
While Sharia, derived from Islamic jurisprudence, has long functioned for personal and moral regulation among Muslims, its jurisdiction was expanded to include criminal law and public morality between 1999 and 2000.
This expansion began in Zamfara State under Governor Ahmad Sani Yerima. Within two years, about 12 northern states—including Zamfara, Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kebbi, Yobe, Kaduna, Niger, and Gombe—adopted similar Sharia-based penal codes and parallel Sharia courts.
Conversely, states like Kwara, Kogi, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, and Adamawa, despite having significant Muslim populations, continue to limit Sharia to personal status matters like marriage and inheritance.
Recent attempts by the Sharia Council to establish arbitration panels, clarifying that they were not “setting up a court of law but rather arbitration panels to mediate Muslim-related disputes and offer non-binding advice,” in the southern states of Oyo and Ogun had initially caused tension and clashes, but the new US bill means these southern states may now “come under investigation” due to the presence of these Sharia panels.
Defending the bill, Senator Cruz asserted that Nigeria’s leadership has “institutionalised sharia law and enabled jihadist violence.”
He argued that “Religious persecution and violence against Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria is endemic,” and provided specific figures, claiming that “Since 2009, over 52,000 Christians have been murdered, 20,000 churches and faith institutions destroyed, and dozens of villages wiped out.”
He concluded by stating that “The federal and state governments have failed to act, and in many cases, they are complicit.”
The bill also highlights that since the adoption of sharia law in Zamfara State in 2000 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, “nearly all 19 northern states had adopted blasphemy provisions in their legal codes.”
The states of Kano, Bauchi, Sokoto, and Katsina have specifically generated “global outrage for death sentences imposed over alleged blasphemy.”
