Overview
- Ted Cruz has urged a Country of Particular Concern designation for Nigeria and introduced a bill that awaits Senate action with no guaranteed path to approval.
- Nigeria’s government rejects the allegation of a targeted campaign against Christians, calling it a gross misrepresentation of the security crisis.
- ACLED records 20,409 civilian deaths from 11,862 attacks since 2020, with 385 incidents explicitly citing Christian targeting resulting in 317 deaths and 196 incidents against Muslims resulting in 417 deaths.
- Conflict experts say current evidence does not meet the legal standard for genocide and point to overlapping drivers including insurgency, farmer-herder clashes, communal rivalries and criminality.
- U.S. commentators and celebrities have amplified large casualty claims that outlets report as unverified, while the Christian Association of Nigeria says killings are not directed at Christians alone.