A group of Republican senators has asked President Donald Trump’s administration to redesignate Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ amid worries over the violence and terrorism against religious minorities, especially Christians.

They made the plea in a letter signed by five senators, Ted Budd, Pete Ricketts, Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and James Lankford and addressed to the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, employing the President Donald Trump administration to use its presidential authority under the Freedom of Religion Act to place Nigeria on the CPC list.

“We write to urge you to consider designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) to give the President additional authority to take specific actions to address the continued unchecked acts of violence and terrorism against religious minorities perpetrated by nonstate actors in Nigeria,” the letter said.

In the letter, the lawmakers decried the decision by former President Joe Biden to remove Nigeria’s CPC designation in March 2021, which had been placed on the West African nation four months earlier during Mr Trump’s first tenure, arguing that attacks on Christians have significantly increased since then, making the country the most dangerous place to practice Christianity in the world.

“As you know, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated Nigeria as a CPC in December 2020, for the ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom perpetrated within its borders, particularly by nonstate actors such as Boko Haram and other terrorist groups,” the senators said.

They added, “While Secretary of State Antony Blinken removed Nigeria from the CPC list in 2021, on March 25, 2025, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended that Nigeria be placed once again on the CPC list, citing several incidents of violence and terrorism against religious minorities.”

Furthermore, to justify the need to redesignate Nigeria as a CPC state, the senators cited several cases, including the kidnapping of mainly 160 Christian children by al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansaru gunmen in May 2024, the killing of 10 farmers by bandits in Niger, and the reportedly attack in Benue state that claimed the lives of 70 Christians in the same year.

The letter also highlighted the most recent attack in Benue state in late June 2025 that resulted in the death of at least Christians, adding that reports suggested that 3,100 of the 4,476 Christians that were killed around the world during the period lived in Nigeria.

Subsequently, the senators urged Mr Rubio to carefully consider designating Nigeria as a CPC nation, pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act, once again.