Twelve northern governors, prominent traditional rulers, and senior judges are at the centre of a looming diplomatic storm as the United States Congress considers a bill that could impose far-reaching sanctions on them over alleged complicity in what American lawmakers describe as a “Christian genocide” and systemic persecution under Nigeria’s sharia and blasphemy laws.
This follows the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern by President Donald Trump and his instruction to the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to act without delay.
On Friday, Trump, in a post on Truth, lamented that thousands of Christians were being killed in Nigeria and asked Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into the matter and report back to him.
The Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, sponsored by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, designates Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” for religious persecution.
The bill proposes direct sanctions against public officials and religious authorities accused of promoting or tolerating violence against Christians and other religious minorities.
In December 2020, the US Department of State designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern for the first time ever due to what it termed systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, violent Boko Haram attacks, and frequent ethno-religious conflicts exacerbated by the judiciary system.
Under the bill, introduced on September 9, 2025, the US Secretary of State will, within 90 days of its passage, submit a report to Congress listing 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.”
The sanctions, to be implemented under Executive Order 13818, the US government’s Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability framework, could result in visa bans, asset freezes, and financial restrictions for those found culpable.
One of the highlights of the bill is the implementation of Sharia law in northern Nigeria, which it termed the blasphemy law, and believed to be against the Christian population.
Sharia, derived from Islamic jurisprudence, has long existed as a system of personal, moral, and communal regulation among Muslim communities in northern Nigeria.
The major turning point came between 1999 and 2000, shortly after Nigeria’s return to civilian rule, when several northern states, beginning with Zamfara under Governor Ahmad Sani Yerima, expanded Sharia’s jurisdiction to include criminal law and public morality.
Within two years, about 12 northern states had adopted similar Sharia-based penal codes and established parallel Sharia courts alongside existing secular courts.
The affected states include Zamfara, Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kebbi, Yobe, Kaduna, Niger, and Gombe.
However, Kwara, Kogi, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, and Adamawa, though with significant Muslim populations, still operate under the conventional secular legal system, with Sharia limited only to personal status matters such as marriage, inheritance, and family issues for Muslims, rather than criminal or public law.
Recently, the Sharia Council announced moves to establish its presence in parts of the South, beginning with Oyo and Ogun states.
The development sparked tension as both Christian and Muslim groups clashed over the perceived introduction of Sharia in the two states.
The tension, however, eased after the council clarified that it was not setting up a court of law but rather arbitration panels to mediate Muslim-related disputes and offer non-binding advice.
Cruz, while defending the bill, said Nigeria’s leadership had “institutionalised sharia law and enabled jihadist violence.”
“Religious persecution and violence against Christians and other religious 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 bill underscores that since the adoption of sharia law in Zamfara State in 2000, during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, nearly all 19 northern states had adopted blasphemy provisions in their legal codes.
States such as Kano, Bauchi, Sokoto, and Katsina have drawn global outrage for death sentences imposed over alleged blasphemy, while even southern states like Oyo and Ogun, both with Sharia panels, may now come under investigation.
Concerns raised
However, the implementation of Shari’a law has raised concerns about human rights and religious freedom following the reported suppression of non-Muslims through restrictions on public worship, construction of churches, and celebration of religious festivals for traditional religionists.
Also, converts from Islam to Christianity and other religions have alleged persecution, harassment, and even violence, while blasphemy laws are often vaguely worded, allowing for arbitrary interpretation and enforcement. This has enabled mobs to take the law into their own hands, resulting in violent and deadly consequences.
There was national outrage in May 2022 after Deborah Samuel, a second-year student of Home Economics at the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, was killed after being accused of blasphemy against Islam. She was stoned and set ablaze by a mob of her fellow students. The perpetrators were not brought to justice.
Usman Buda, a butcher in Sokoto, was lynched by a mob after being accused of blasphemy, sparking widespread outrage. In 2021, a water seller in Bauchi State was beaten and burned to death for alleged blasphemy.
A similar fate befell Bridget Agbahime, 74, who was beaten to death in Kano in 2016, after she was accused of blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad.
In designating Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” Trump cited alleged severe violations of religious freedom, particularly the persecution of Christians. He claimed that Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria, with thousands of Christians being killed by radical Islamists.
Trump warned that the US would take action, including potential military intervention, if Nigeria didn’t address the issue.
The US President also threatened to halt all aid and assistance to Nigeria should the Tinubu administration fail to end the alleged persecution and killing of Christians.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.
“I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians,” he said.
If passed, the Act would compel the US to impose targeted sanctions on officials enforcing Sharia or blasphemy laws; blacklist Nigerian actors complicit in religiously motivated violence, and maintain terror designations for Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa as Entities of Particular Concern.
Echoing Trump’s threat to invade Nigeria, the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, signalled readiness to take military action over alleged killings of Christians in the country.
In an X post on Sunday, the top official said the US Department of War is preparing for action if Nigeria fails to protect Christians.
“The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria — and anywhere — must end immediately. The Department of War is preparing for action. Either the Nigerian Government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Hegseth wrote.
Under section 3, titled, ‘Designations and amendments related to the International Religious Freedom Act,’ the draft bill says the US Secretary of State shall ‘’Designate, for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom— (1) the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern; and (2) Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa as Entities of Particular Concern.’’
The designation was based on a report hinged on section 402(b)(1)(A) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and section 301(a) of the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016.
CAN blames leaders
The Christian Association of Nigeria has blamed the lack of courage by the nation’s leaders in addressing killings and violations of human rights as a reason for the threats of intervention by President Donald Trump over alleged Christians’ genocide in the country.
Chairman, Northern CAN, Rev John Hayab, who spoke with The PUNCH on Sunday, said Trump’s warning was another opportunity for the Federal Government to correct the wrongs in governance and deal with all those perpetrating violence across the country under the guise of religion.
Hayab, who affirmed that members of the Christian community in the North were victims of the killings, said Trump’s call was for President Bola Tinubu’s government to show courage and take responsible action to stop killings in the country.
Hayab said, “The reason why we are where we are today is the lack of courage by leaders to take decisive action and stop those who violate the rights of fellow citizens, hiding under religion or whatever identity.
“The Nigerian government should just take advantage of this opportunity and stamp its foot to correct where there is wrong; stamp its foot to speak the language of unity, stamp its foot to tell those who have been hiding under religion to torment fellow citizens that they no longer have a space in Nigeria.
“Trump is simply saying there are killings in Nigeria, which is true. Stop it, and that ends it. Take action, and that ends it. It is a matter that requires attention. And I think someone should act responsibly, correct it, and you will see that the rhetoric will change.”
He expressed belief that Trump would not suddenly deploy US troops to invade Nigeria, adding, “It’s a call for correction. It is a call to do what is right. Trump will not just ask the army to come and start fighting Nigeria. We are being killed. We are being denied certain rights and privileges. We are not treated well as citizens. We are not given the respect we’re supposed to get as citizens of our country. And we have to speak out. We were speaking out to our government.
“As a Christian community, when this matter came up, we spoke our minds. All we wanted the world to know is that we truly are suffering.
“And it is published in newspapers, which can be read all over the world. Thank God, agencies that are involved in promoting human rights and religious freedom across the globe read our complaint and took up action and possibly got the attention of some people in America, and what has happened is happening.”
https://punchng.com/cpc-blacklist-12-nigerian-governors-other-officials-may-face-us-sanctions/
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