Ted Cruz, United States Senator has vowed to publicly identify Nigerian government officials he claims are complicit in the killing of Christians across the country.
The Republican lawmaker made the declaration on Tuesday via his official X handle, reaffirming his commitment to holding accountable those he accuses of enabling or participating in religious persecution.
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Cruz, a former U.S. presidential candidate and a long-time advocate for religious freedom, said he has been pushing legislation to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) — a classification reserved for nations accused of severe violations of religious liberty.
In his post, the senator stated, “I’ve been pushing legislation to designate Nigeria a CPC and to impose sanctions on the Nigerian officials responsible.”
He commended U.S. President Donald Trump for what he described as “leadership in imposing the designation, and more broadly, for fighting to stop the murder of Christians in Nigeria.”
Cruz added that he would soon make public the names of Nigerian officials allegedly involved in the persecution of Christians.
“Now we should take the next step and hold Nigerian officials accountable. I intend to be very explicit about who they are in the coming days and weeks,” he wrote.
The lawmaker’s comments come amid renewed debate in Washington over Nigeria’s human rights record and the Biden administration’s 2021 decision to delist the country from the CPC category, which had been reinstated under Trump in 2020.
It was learnt that human rights groups and Christian advocacy organisations in the United States have consistently urged Washington to restore Nigeria’s CPC designation, citing an upsurge in attacks on Christian communities and what they describe as the Nigerian government’s failure to respond effectively.
The Nigerian government has repeatedly denied accusations of religious persecution, maintaining that the violence in parts of the country is driven by criminality, terrorism, and resource-based conflicts rather than religion.