The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to mount a coordinated diplomatic and domestic response to a proposed legislation in the United States Senate seeking to classify Nigeria as a CPC
The House of Representatives has expressed serious concern over a bill recently introduced in the United States Senate seeking to classify Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) for alleged violations of religious freedom.
This is as the House resolved to reject external narratives portraying Nigeria’s security crisis as a purely religious conflict.
It mandated the Committees on Foreign Affairs, National Security and Intelligence, Police Affairs, Interior, Civil Societies and Human Rights, and National Orientation and Values to coordinate with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigeria’s Embassy in Washington, D.C. within 21 days to transmit Nigeria’s official position to the sponsors of S. 2747, relevant U.S. authorities, the U.S. Mission in Nigeria and the United Nations.
The House also urged that a Nigeria–U.S. joint fact-finding and dialogue be proposed to correct misperceptions and foster mutual understanding.
The motion, brought under matters of urgent public importance by the Deputy Speaker, Rep. Benjamin Kalu (APC Abia), on Wednesday, called for a coordinated diplomatic and domestic response to what he described as “a mischaracterisation of Nigeria’s complex security and religious freedom landscape.”
The motion, titled “Urgent Need for a Coordinated Diplomatic and Domestic Response to the Proposed Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025 (U.S. Senate Bill S.2747) and to Mischaracterisations of Nigeria’s Security and Religious-Freedom Landscape,” urged the House to push back against what it termed an unjustified external interference in Nigeria’s internal affairs.
Kalu informed lawmakers that on September 9, 2025, a bill titled Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act, 2025 (S. 2747) was introduced in the United States Senate.
According to him, the proposed legislation, sponsored by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and co-sponsored by others, directs the U.S. Secretary of State to designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).
If passed, the designation would subject Nigeria and certain officials to potential sanctions under Executive Order 13818 and related frameworks of the Global Magnitsky Act — a U.S. law that targets individuals accused of human rights abuses or corruption worldwide.
Reading from the motion, Kalu reminded the House that Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended) guarantees freedom of thought, conscience, and religion and prohibits the adoption of any state religion.
He added that successive administrations and security agencies, working with faith leaders and civil society, have taken deliberate steps to protect worshippers of all faiths and prosecute offenders — a fact reflected even in the U.S. Department of State’s 2023 Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Nigeria.
Kalu described the move as “unjustified” and “potentially damaging,” warning that such unilateral legislative action could undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty and misrepresent the country’s internal security challenges before the international community.
“This proposed U.S. legislation is based on incomplete and de-contextualised assessments,” Kalu said.
“Nigeria’s insecurity is complex, multi-casual, driven by insurgency, criminal banditry, farmer–herder conflicts, separatist agitations, and communal disputes that affect citizens of all faiths.”
Background to the Ted Cruz Bill
The Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025 (S. 2747) was introduced before the U.S. Senate on September 9. The bill seeks to mandate the U.S. government to identify Nigerian officials responsible for maintaining or enforcing blasphemy laws and to sanction them.
The measure was inspired by recommendations from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which has for several years urged the U.S. State Department to designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern.”
While the USCIRF reports allege that Nigerian authorities have failed to adequately protect religious minorities or punish perpetrators of violence, Nigerian officials insist that such reports are misleading, arguing that most of the violence in the country is driven by terrorism and criminality rather than religious persecution.
Lawmakers Push Back
During the debate that followed Kalu’s motion, several lawmakers backed the deputy speaker’s position, insisting that the U.S. bill was based on “faulty assumptions” and “one-sided narratives.”
The Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rep. Oluwole Oke (APC Osun), noted that the bill had long been under consideration in the U.S. Congress and that a public hearing was held without the participation of Nigeria’s diplomatic mission in Washington.
“They denied our Nigerian mission and other Nigerians audience and participation,” Rep. Oke said.
“I cited a case of an Islamic scholar in Katsina who was honored and on his way home was murdered by bandits. I cited several issues to show that we do not have religious crisis in Nigeria.
“It is a deliberate attempt to damage the Nigerian image,” he added.
He urged the House to fully support the investigation proposed in Rep. Kalu’s motion and to ensure that the Nigerian Senate aligns with the position of the House.
In his contribution, Rep. Sada Soli (APC, Katsina) called on the National Assembly to adopt a more robust form of parliamentary diplomacy to engage the U.S. legislative system directly.
“This is the moment this Parliament must re-engineer its parliamentary diplomacy,” Rep. Soli said.
“Nigeria has always been of strategic interest to the U.S. politically and economically. What we are facing now is global politics, and we must address it with facts through proper diplomatic channels.”
He recalled that in 2015, when the U.S. National Security Council predicted Nigeria would become a failed state, the National Assembly dispatched delegations to Washington to engage key institutions until the report was disowned.
Also contributing, Rep. Billy Osawaru (APC, Edo) lamented that Nigeria currently lacks a substantive Ambassador to the United States and a Permanent Representative to the United Nations — a situation he said weakens Nigeria’s ability to respond to sensitive international issues.
“Nigeria cannot afford to avoid global politics,” Osawaru said.
“If we don’t have proper diplomatic channels and recognised envoys in Washington and New York, our voices will not be heard. We must strengthen our missions and also use our Nigeria–U.S. Parliamentary Friendship Group to engage the American Congress.”
He added that the issue transcends Nigeria, warning that the U.S. move could set a dangerous precedent for other African countries.
“If this bill sails through, Nigeria will be the first, but not the last, African country to be so designated. We must not fail Nigeria, and we must not fail Africa,” he warned.
Following extensive debate, the House resolved to condemn all forms of violence and persecution on religious grounds.
The resolution is to be transmitted to the Presidency, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U.S. Congress leadership, U.S. Department of State, African Union, and the ECOWAS Commission for further diplomatic engagement.
Account of Previous efforts to designate Nigeria as a CPC
Previous efforts to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) have a significant history centered on addressing religious freedom violations and severe violence, particularly against Christians, in the country.
Nigeria was designated a CPC by the U.S. Department of State under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) starting around 2020. This designation was in response to systematic and egregious violations of religious freedom, including violent attacks by groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP, with thousands of Christians killed and numerous churches destroyed since 2009.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has repeatedly recommended since 2009, including in a detailed 2013 report, that Nigeria be designated a CPC due to the government’s inability or unwillingness to prevent or prosecute perpetrators of religious violence and sectarian killings.
In November 2021, the Biden administration removed Nigeria from the CPC list, a move that was criticized by many U.S. lawmakers and religious freedom advocates as premature given ongoing violence and religious persecution.
Following the removal, there has been renewed advocacy by U.S. lawmakers and the USCIRF to redesignate Nigeria as a CPC, citing increasing religious violence and government inaction. For example, in June 2022, five U.S. senators called on the Secretary of State to redesignate Nigeria as a CPC. In 2025, multiple pieces of legislation and resolutions were introduced by U.S. representatives and senators pushing for Nigeria’s CPC redesignation and for sanctions on Nigerian officials who enable religious violence.
