A United States Republican party Senator, Ted Cruz, has accused some unnamed Nigerian government officials of involvement in attacks against Christians in the country.
Senator Cruz, who made the allegation during a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing focused on the United States counterterrorism strategy in Africa on Tuesday, claimed that Nigeria records the highest number of Christians killed because of their faith anywhere in the world.
He said since 2009, more than 50,000 Christians had been killed, while over 20,000 churches, schools and other religious buildings had been destroyed.
“Nigerian officials had been, unfortunately, complicit in facilitating these atrocities,” Cruz said.
He linked part of the violence to the operation of Sharia law in some Northern States, and also criticised Nigerian authorities, saying their response to insecurity in the country had been slow.
Cruz recalled a previous meeting with Nigerian defence and security officials, where assurances were given that the violence would be addressed.
However, he said those promises have not yet produced results.
“I told them I would judge their commitment by the results. Those results have yet to materialise,” he said.
The Senator also revealed that in October, he introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025.
According to him, the bill is designed to hold Nigerian government officials accountable over alleged involvement in attacks on Christians.
During the session, Cruz questioned a senior official of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, Nick Checker, on whether engagements between Nigeria and the United States had led to meaningful progress, especially after actions taken under U.S. President Donald Trump.
In his response, Checker said Nigeria had shown some level of cooperation with the United States, pointing to changes in the country’s security structure, including leadership adjustments, recruitment of more troops and deployment of forest guards to troubled areas.
“We’ve seen some positive movements, including leadership changes in Nigerian security services, recruitment of additional troops, and deployment of forest guards to areas affected by violence,” he said.
He added that there had been an increase in the prosecution of suspected terrorists, mentioning the creation of a bilateral high level working group after discussions between Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, and US Under Secretary of State, Allison Hooker.
Checker noted further that recent support from the United States to Nigerian security forces showed continued cooperation between both countries.
“We’ve seen positive steps by the Nigerians, but certainly more can be done,” Checker said, adding that the U.S. would continue to push for further action.
