Trump to Activate 2020 Appeal Over Christian Killings in Nigeria
U.S. President Donald J. Trump has reportedly taken steps to act on a 2020 appeal addressed to him by American lawmakers, calling for urgent intervention in the escalating violence against Christians in Nigeria.
The letter, dated during Trump’s presidency, urged his administration to deploy diplomatic and legal tools to halt what the writers described as “violent persecution” of Christians across Nigeria. It specifically called for the appointment of a United States Special Envoy to Nigeria and the Lake Chad region and the use of sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act against individuals or groups responsible for killings and attacks on Christians.
The correspondence detailed the scale of the crisis, citing data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), which recorded approximately 3,200 deaths from extremist Fulani militia attacks since 2018 and more than 40,000 fatalities tied to Boko Haram insurgency since 2008. The letter further highlighted Boko Haram’s 2015 allegiance to ISIS, which, it said, had made the group even more lethal to Christians in Nigeria.
“Innocent women, children, and men are being slaughtered across the country, and many of these attacks have specifically targeted Christians,” the letter stated. It referenced a New York Times report on a Boko Haram video showing the beheading of 10 Christian prisoners as a “message for Christians” following the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The lawmakers also commended interfaith cooperation in Nigeria through the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), which had fostered unity between Christian and Muslim leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, they lamented that extremist groups continued their attacks even as the pandemic confined many to their homes.
The letter recalled Trump’s 2018 meeting with then-Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, during which he urged Nigeria to intensify efforts to protect civilians of all faiths. It noted that following Trump’s statement, the killings reportedly subsided for six months a sign, the writers said, that his influence could help restore peace.
Notably, reports later emerged that Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), had in 2020 engaged Mercury LLC, a U.S. lobbying firm, to facilitate the letter’s drafting and submission to President Trump.
Now, five years later, Trump is said to be acting upon the recommendations contained in that letter, signaling renewed international attention to the long-standing concerns over religiously motivated violence in Nigeria.
While details of Trump’s latest steps have not yet been made public, his decision to revisit the issue underscores the enduring global concern over the protection of religious minorities in Africa’s most populous nation.
