U.S. lawmaker Ted Cruz has accused President Bola Tinubu of splurging resources and attention on U.S. lobbyists amid persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

In a statement on Wednesday, Mr Cruz said, “Instead of responding to American concerns, Nigerian officials waged a public relations campaign against critics.”

Amid a campaign against “Christian genocide” in Nigeria, Mr Cruz proposed a “Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act, 2025” that would target government officials facilitating the murder of Christians and implementation of “blasphemy laws” with sanctions.

The U.S. lawmaker insisted, “Nigerian officials have created an environment that facilitated mass violence against Christians and religious minorities by imposing blasphemy and Sharia laws and looking the other way at jihadist atrocities”.

He added, “The U.S. government knows the Nigerian officials responsible for these policies; I have been pushing my bill to sanction them, and President Trump has even ordered military action.”

Mr Cruz accused the Nigerian government of being confident in their ability to continue the status quo, expressing satisfaction over President Donald Trump’s response to alleged Christian persecution in the country.

Presidential spokespersons Bayo Onanuga, Sunday Dare, and Daniel Bwala did not respond to Peoples Gazette’s requests for comments on Mr Cruz’s latest allegation.

On January 14, The Gazette reportedthat Mr Tinubu’s administration splurged $9 million on a Republican lobbyist in its effort to curry Washington’s favour, particularly to appease Mr Trump on plans to invade Nigeria to confront terrorists allegedly targeting Christians, thereby humiliating his government’s capacity ahead of his re-election bid next year.

Barely a month later, Chris Smith, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee, and Riley Moore submitted a proposed bill, the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026, to the U.S. House of Representatives, suggesting sanctions to keep Mr Tinubu’s government on its toes.