Ted Cruz Takes On Nigerian Government over Persecution of Christians

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Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz is taking a bold stand against the Nigerian government regarding the execution of Christians in that country. Cruz claims that from 2009 through the present that a “mass slaughter” of over 50,000 Christians have been killed for their faith in Christ. Nigerian officials are denying the accusation, accusing Cruz of fabricating “malicious, contrived lies,” according to Fox News Digital.

As Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, Cruz told Fox that, "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.”

RELATED: Bill Maher Denounces Media for Ignoring Christian Persecution in Nigeria

In addition to the murder of all the Nigerian Christians, Cruz claims that “over 20,000 churches and Christian schools have been destroyed. 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.”

Cruz’s Religious Freedom Accountability Bill

Cruz has introduced a bill called the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025. The purpose of the bill is to protect Christians and other religious minorities that are targeted for persecution by Nigerian officials who encourage Islamist jihadist violence and the enforcement of blasphemy laws.

“Nigerian Christians are being targeted and executed for their faith by Islamist terrorist groups and are being forced to submit to Sharia law and blasphemy laws across Nigeria. It is long past time to impose real costs on the Nigerian officials who facilitate these activities, and my Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act uses new and existing tools to do exactly that. I urge my colleagues to advance this critical legislation expeditiously,” Cruz noted at his website.

Intensity of Christian Persecution in Nigeria

The source Cruz noted on his website for the number of Christian Nigerians killed since 2009 is the Vatican News.

Open Doors 2025 World Watch List ranks Nigeria as number 7 out of 50 countries for its persecution of Christians, making it one of the most extreme where Christian persecution is concerned. Over the past year alone, Open Doors notes that 3100 Christians were killed for their faith. Their primary oppressors are Islamists, according to the website. In Africa as a whole, 1 in 5 Christians face persecution.

Cruz’s bill also calls on the U.S. Secretary of State “to designate the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC),” and calls for sanctions to be placed on the country due to violations of religious freedom, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

Image credit: ©Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker/Staff

Elizabeth Delaney has been a freelance content writer for over 20 years and has enjoyed having her prose published in both the non-fiction and fiction markets. She has written various types of content, including Christian articles, healthy lifestyle, blog posts, business topics, news articles, product descriptions, and some fiction. She is also a singer-songwriter-musician. When she is not busy with writing or music, she enjoys spending time with friends or family and doing fun social activities such as hiking, swing dancing, concerts, and other activities.