Washington Moves to Sanction Those Behind the Slaughter of 125,000 Nigerian Christians

U.S. Congress Introduces Bill to Sanction Groups Behind Mass Killings of Nigerian Christians

The United States Congress has introduced legislation that could impose targeted sanctions on individuals and organizations linked to the mass persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

The Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026, designated H.R. 7457, was introduced on February 10, 2026 by Representatives Riley Moore (R WV) and Chris Smith (R NJ), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee.

The bill requires the U.S. Secretary of State to compile and submit to Congress a comprehensive report on American efforts to address the ongoing religious persecution and mass atrocities against Christians in Nigeria.

The Nigerian government's blatant denial of the religious persecution occurring within its borders has only enabled the religious based violence in the country to fester, with Christian deaths and church attacks reaching unprecedented numbers.

Rep. Chris Smith stated.

Estimates cited in the legislation indicate that between 50,000 and 125,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria from 2009 to 2025. More than 19,000 Christian churches have been attacked or destroyed during the same period by Fulani militias, Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and other extremist groups.

The bill specifically names former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and militia organizations including the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as potential targets for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

For years, Christians in Nigeria have faced unspeakable violence churches burned, villages destroyed, families slaughtered while the global community looked away.

Rep. Riley Moore stated.

Cosponsors of the legislation include House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R OK), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R FL), Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security Chairman Mario Diaz Balart (R FL), and Foreign Affairs South and East Asia Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga (R MI).

New U.S. Sanctions Bill Targets Fulani Militias and Officials Linked to Nigerian Christian Persecution

The legislation mandates assessment of Nigeria's compliance with the International Religious Freedom Act, evaluation of U.S. security assistance to Nigeria and whether it risks enabling persecution, investigation into enforcement of blasphemy laws, and conditions for internally displaced persons.

President Trump redesignated Nigeria as a "Country of Particular Concern" in late 2025, authorized U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State targets, and imposed visa restrictions on individuals involved in mass killings of Christians.

Nigerian Christians, including journalist Luka Binniyat who has covered the persecution from Kaduna State for over 26 years, have applauded the bill. Binniyat himself was arrested and prosecuted for his reporting on the massacres of Christians in southern Kaduna.

The Crusader's Opinion

Between 50,000 and 125,000 Christians slaughtered. Nineteen thousand churches burned to the ground. And for years, the world said nothing. The Nigerian government denied it was even happening while Fulani militias carried out what can only be called a slow motion genocide against the Body of Christ. This bill is long overdue. Every politician, every militia leader, every governor who turned a blind eye while believers were butchered in their own churches deserves to face the full weight of American sanctions. If Christians were doing this to Muslims anywhere on earth, the United Nations would have intervened a decade ago. The silence has been deafening, and the hypocrisy has been deadly.

Take Action

• Contact your U.S. Representative and urge them to cosponsor H.R. 7457, the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026. Find your representative at house.gov.
• Support persecuted Nigerian Christians through The Shepherd's Shield (www.TheShepherdsShield.org), which provides direct aid to persecuted believers.
• Donate to Open Doors USA, which ranks Nigeria as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians on their World Watch List.
• Support International Christian Concern (ICC), which actively advocates for persecuted Christians in Nigeria and monitors the crisis.
• Pray for Nigerian Christians daily and share this story with your church community. Ask your pastor to dedicate a Sunday prayer to the persecuted church in Nigeria.