The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, Wilfred Anagbe has urged the United States to match its renewed designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) with concrete action.
While testifying on Thursday before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, which is investigating Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a CPC, the cleric said: ‘On behalf of millions of Christians in Nigeria and in the diaspora, we want to thank President Donald Trump for his bold leadership in designating Nigeria as a CPC. I commend you and this subcommittee for ongoing efforts on this matter.
‘It is a vital step, but must be backed by serious action. One, use the Magnitsky Act for targeted sanctions against Nigerian government officials and others tolerating or condoning Islamic violence in the country’.
The Bishop urged lawmakers to tie security and humanitarian aid to measurable improvements.
‘Expand humanitarian support for IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons). The IDPs must return to their ancestral homes, and this requires security guarantees from the Nigerian Government’, Anagbe said.
The cleric also appealed for support to rebuild livelihoods and endorsed proposed U.S. legislation on accountability.
‘They must be supported to rebuild their economic livelihood and enjoy basic services such as education and sanitation.
‘Support this Nigerian Religious Freedom Accountability Act to hold perpetrators accountable. This point cannot be overemphasised because impunity fuels the violence we suffer’, said.
Bishop Anagbe told the lawmakers that many Christian victims in Benue State remain traumatised. He said one priest he knows ‘cannot walk’ after surviving a terrorist attack.
He accused the Federal Government of downplaying casualty figures and abandoning survivors of repeated assaults.
Anagbe also argued that President Donald Trump’s earlier CPC designation ‘aimed to stabilise Nigeria’, but ‘worsened the safety of Christians’.
He stressed that the killings must stop, noting that the CPC designation brought ‘joy, hope and spiritual resilience’ to communities under attack but insisted it cannot end the violence alone.
‘Irrespective of who is being killed, the prime question is: are there killings in Nigeria? The government should stop it.
‘It requires political, military and humanitarian interventions. Mr Chairman and members, the blood of Nigerian Christians cries out to you. We cannot afford to wait any longer.
‘Use every tool of U.S. influence to demand change. America has a unique role in defending religious freedom globally. Please enact concrete action according to the CPC designation. We all know that inaction emboldens extremists even more’, he said.
The committee will hear from senior U.S. State Department officials and Nigerian religious leaders.
The controversy escalated after President Trump reinstated Nigeria on the CPC list on 31 October 2025. He alleged systematic persecution of Christians in the country.
Pressed by reporters on Air Force One, he confirmed that military options were under consideration.
The Nigerian government has firmly rejected Trump’s claim.
President Bola Tinubu said: ‘Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty. The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our reality’.
American rapper Nicki Minaj also weighed in on Tuesday while speaking at a U.S. Mission to the United Nations forum on religious violence.
She said: ‘No group should ever be attacked because of its faith’, and stressed that her comments aimed to unite people.
Nigeria was first declared a CPC in 2020 under Trump, but former President Joe Biden removed the designation shortly after assuming office.
