'Trump to create sanctions plan for Nigeria, congressman says'

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Catholic News Agency article on Smith's work to promote religious freedom'Trump to create sanctions plan for Nigeria, congressman says'

f t # Washington, Dec 10, 2025 | comments

• Catholic News Agency

By Madalaine Elhabbal
Published December 10, 2025 at 15:30 PM

              U.S. President Donald Trump is crafting a sanctions plan to increase pressure on the Nigerian government amid ongoing Christian persecution, according to a leading member of Congress. 

              President Trump “is in the process of crafting a comprehensive action plan including sanctions to pursue reform,” according to Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, who described Nigeria as “ground zero,” and the “focal point of the most brutal and murderous anti-Christian persecution in the world today.” 

              Smith, a Catholic who chairs the house Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, mentioned the plan during his Dec. 9 speech at “The Emergency Summit on Crimes Against Christians,” organized by For the Martyrs, a nonprofit that aids persecuted Christians. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, and Rep. Marlin Stuzman, R-Indiana, also spoke at the event. 

Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, speaks about a sanctions plan to increase pressure on the Nigerian government amid ongoing Christian persecution on Dec. 9, 2025. | Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/CNA

              The veteran New Jersey congressman praised Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and affirmed that “Religious freedom will now be at the forefront of the U.S.-Nigeria bilateral relationship.” 

              The president can choose from a menu of sanctions for a CPC-designated country under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), ranging from diplomatic measures to economic sanctions. The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

              During his remarks, Senator Josh Hawley said Nigeria “has recently drawn global attention and has drawn the attention of our own president.” 

              “I applaud President Trump for standing up for persecuted Christians. I applaud the president for putting Nigeria back on the watch list where it belongs,” Hawley said. The Missouri senator quoted the Book of Revelation while praising Christians persecuted around the world, saying: “They love not their lives, even unto death.” 

              “We see here in the Lord's own word, his testament to the power of the persecuted church,” Hawley said. “That he says it is those who are persecuted, who are willing to lay down their lives for the Gospel…it is those believers whose blood bears witness to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

              Stutzman, whose district includes Fort Wayne, Indiana, also condemned the persecution of Christians in Nigeria during his remarks, and praised Trump for being “the strongest president on [religious freedom] since probably Ronald Reagan.” 

              “We have a president who's willing to call out those bad guys around the world,” he said. “At the end of the day, I think this is why it's so important for us as Americans, especially for us as Christians. We are the party of life. We believe life is a gift from God. And so therefore, we should protect it. And we should be asking those folks, What is the threat? What is the threat of Christians in Nigeria to the government, to the leaders in that nation? What is the threat of Christians there?”

              Trump has charged Rep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, with leading an investigation into persecution in Nigeria.

China

              Congressman Smith went on to highlight religious persecution in China, saying “Chinese dictator Xi Jinping’s accelerated and brutal crackdown on believers in China must be exposed and stopped as well.” He highlighted the October raids on home churches by Chinese security agents, saying, “in Xi Jinping’s China, devotion that isn’t Communist Party-approved is treated as a political problem to be solved by police brutality.”

              “We must act with sanctions, especially those prescribed by the International Religious Freedom Act,” Smith said. 

              Hawley also drew attention to persecution in China, where he said “the totalitarian, secularist, anti-Christian government carried out raids on home church after home church.” 


This article was published on December 10, 2025 and can be found online at: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/268387/trump-to-create-sanctions-plan-for-nigeria-congressman-says

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