After years of public advocacy on behalf of Nigerian Christians by Family Research Council and other international religious liberty groups, the Trump administration redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) on October 31 to recognize the ongoing genocidal violence against Christians and other religious minorities perpetrated by Islamist terrorists.

In a Truth Social post, President Trump announced the decision to designate Nigeria a CPC, noting that “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for the mass slaughter.” The president went on to note that he had designated Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) to report back to him on the matter.

Notably, the move came just two weeks after FRC President Tony Perkins and a coalition of 34 religious freedom advocates and Christian leaders sent a letter to Trump urging his administration to redesignate Nigeria as a CPC, which allows the federal government to levy a variety of economic sanctions on the African nation’s government in order to pressure them to protect Christians and other religious minorities from harm. Reports from inside Nigeria estimate that over 52,000 Christians have been massacred and more than 20,000 churches have been destroyed by numerous Islamist terrorist groups since 2009, including Fulani herders, Boko Haram, and other Islamic State and al-Qaeda-linked terror groups. Experts have called the ongoing crisis a “genocide.”

The move also comes almost six years after the first Trump administration first designated Africa’s most populous country as a CPC. But shortly after taking office in 2021, the Biden administration rescinded the designation, which occurred just a day before then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Nigerian state leaders.

Over the weekend, Trump appeared to significantly escalate the matter by issuing a stark warning to the Nigerian government. “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” the president posted on Truth Social. “I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. … WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”

In response, a spokesperson for the Nigerian government stated that military assistance would be welcomed as long as the African country’s sovereignty was respected. “We welcome U.S. assistance as long as it recognises our territorial integrity,” Daniel Bwala, an adviser to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, told Reuters. “… I am sure by the time these two leaders meet and sit, there would be better outcomes in our joint resolve to fight terrorism.”

Experts like former U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chair and current FRC President Tony Perkins are cautioning that the use of U.S. military force in Nigeria could backfire.

“The CPC status is intended for using sanctions and economic levers, not military force,” he told The Washington Stand. “I think the U.S. should be very careful to thread the needle with this. We can’t be the world’s policeman. That has negative connotations for our advocacy for religious freedom if it’s associated with military engagement.”

Still, Perkins expressed appreciation for the Trump administration reversing the Biden administration’s decision to lift sanctions on the country with the highest rate in the world of Christians being killed for their faith.

“This is very good to see,” Perkins posted on X Friday. “During my time as chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) under President Trump’s first administration, we were able to obtain this CPC designation on Nigeria because of its atrocious record of tolerating religious persecution. The incoming Biden administration immediately reversed the decision. Elections have life and death consequences.”

Lawmakers like Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who authored legislation to designate Nigeria a CPC, also commended the Trump administration’s action. “President Trump’s announcement validates the cries and concerns of the many church leaders and practicing Christians in Nigeria, and it reflects the United States’ unfaltering intolerance for foreign governments who do not protect their citizens from religious persecution,” he remarked.

Current USCIRF Chair Vicky Hartzler also celebrated the move, stating, “We applaud @POTUS for making Nigeria a CPC. The Trump admin can now use the various presidential actions outlined in IRFA [International Religious Freedom Act] to incentivize Nigeria to protect its citizens and hold perpetrators accountable.”