US Sen. Ted Cruz has said the next step following the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) is to hold Nigerian officials accountable.

Sen. Cruz is championing the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, a bill intended to protect Christians and other religious minorities from what he describes as widespread persecution in Nigeria. In a post on his official X account on Tuesday, Sen. Cruz said he had been pushing legislation to designate Nigeria as a CPC and to impose sanctions on Nigerian officials responsible for religious persecution.

He thanked US President Donald Trump for the designation, and for “fighting to stop the murder of Christians in Nigeria.” Sen. Cruz added: “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.”

His full post read: “I’ve been pushing legislation to designate Nigeria a CPC and to impose sanctions on the Nigerian officials responsible. Thank you to President Trump for his leadership in imposing the designation, and more broadly, for fighting to stop the murder of Christians in Nigeria. 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.”

Over the weekend, President Trump declared Nigeria a CPC over alleged killings of Christians. The US designation and Sen. Cruz’s proposed legislation mark an escalation in international scrutiny of Nigeria’s security situation and the protection of religious minorities.

The Nigerian Government continues to reject allegations of a systematic campaign targeting Christians. In September, the Federal Government described claims of a genocide against Christians as “false, baseless, despicable, and divisive.” The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, argued that portraying Nigeria’s insecurity as a religious conflict was a gross misrepresentation, saying extremists target citizens of all faiths.

Mr. Idris further noted that, between May 2023 and February 2025, security forces had killed more than 13,500 terrorists and rescued nearly 10,000 hostages. He cited the capture of top Ansaru leaders and over 700 convictions of Boko Haram suspects as evidence of progress in the fight against terrorism, and said: “These criminals target all who reject their murderous ideology, regardless of faith.”