STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE

A FAILED OPPOSITION ENGAGING IN SUBTERFUGE AND THE EMPTY SEARCH FOR SCAPEGOATS

Nigeria's so-called opposition politicians, comprising some of those left in a dying political party and a sprinkling of some failed political office aspirants regrouping in a platform struggling to find its bearings, are amusing lots.

They blow hot air, seek scapegoats for their failure and move to confuse the polity in a desperate search for cheap political gains.

On Sunday, a group of opposition figures gathered to sing their familiar tune, hoping their cheerleaders would see their action as a blistering attack from a seemingly virile opposition group.

They alleged a threat to multi-party democracy because many top politicians are joining the governing All Progressives Congress of their own free will. Our constitution guarantees freedom of association and affords our people the right to change their political leanings at any time of their choosing.

None of the people who joined the governing APC was pressured to do so. They all did so of their own free will. They are being motivated by the noticeable gains of President Bola Tinubu's reform programme.

We may ask: when politicians were moving in droves to the now-dying Peoples Democratic Party between 2000 and 2015, was Nigeria's democracy imperilled?

Also, investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have begun exposing those with some explanation to give regarding their stewardship in office and management of public funds entrusted to them. These politicians now accuse President Tinubu of weaponising the EFCC for political purposes.

While the Presidency does not speak for the EFCC and believes the agency can speak for itself, we must reiterate that the EFCC is an independent institution established by law and empowered to carry out its statutory responsibilities without interference or favour.

The agency's mandate is to investigate and prosecute financial crimes, irrespective of the personalities involved, their political affiliations, or their positions in society. We find it curious that the same people who claimed they want to rescue Nigeria are now the ones waging a war of attrition against accountability and probity. Those who have cases to answer before EFCC should be bold and brave enough to defend themselves if they are clean.

President Tinubu does not issue directives to any anti-corruption agency on whom to investigate, arrest, or prosecute.

President Tinubu has significant state issues to address rather than engage in political targeting.

The prosecution is conducted by the court, not by any sleight of hand, and those found not guilty will receive a clean bill of health.

Allegations of "weaponisation" are distractions from these politicians, who are running short of campaign issues to challenge President Tinubu and the APC's success in less than three years in office.

No one is above the law. Everyone must be accountable for their actions, both in and out of the office. Political affiliation should not be a shield against EFCC statutory work, which recently led to Nigeria's removal from the FATF grey list.

We have taken cognisance of the signatories to the statement. It is instructive that some of them were previously investigated and prosecuted by the EFCC even before President Tinubu took office in 2023.

Some of these politicians have also been indicted in international financial probes for money laundering, with some of their accomplices jailed in foreign lands.

Are they now signing statements because their chickens are coming home to roost?

We advise those politicians not to undermine the integrity of our nation's institutions and the collective resolve to fight corruption by weaponising politics to escape accountability and encourage impunity.

The fight against corruption is a collective responsibility and should not be trivialised by baseless allegations, jaundiced or politicised narratives.


Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information & Strategy)
December 14, 2025

Opposition Leaders Raise Alarm over Threat Against Nigeria's Multi-Party Democracy

*Accuse Tinubu govt of plot to annihilate opposition

*Demand independent review body to examine public accounts of federal, state, LGs from 2015 to 2025

*Propose embedding anti-graft operatives directly into government payment, expenditure processes at all levels


PRESS STATEMENT

Anti-Corruption, Not Anti-Opposition: A Joint Statement by Opposition Leaders on the Growing Politicisation of State Institutions for Persecution of the Opposition

We are compelled by duty to nation and conscience to issue this statement to alert our compatriots and the international community to the unfortunate and gradual slide of our country into a state where key national institutions - particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); The Nigeria Police; The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) are increasingly perceived as tools of political intimidation, selective justice and systematic persecution of opposition leaders.

Across our nation, there are mounting concerns that state power is being deployed not for prevention of economic crimes, but for persecution of perceived political adversaries, with the ultimate aim of weakening opposition voices and dismantling Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.

A Dangerous Agenda Unfolding

More than ever before in our democratic experience, Nigerians have witnessed what many now describe as a covert, undemocratic agenda: to ensure that all state governments fall under the control of the President’s party - not through transparent electoral contests, but by secretly intimidating opposition governors via the anti-corruption apparatus until they succumb and defect. Recent defections of opposition governors into the ruling party have reinforced public suspicion that political pressure, not ideological or personal persuasion, is driving this realignment. This pattern forms part of a broader project that targets not only elected leaders but also key opposition figures perceived as architects of emerging coalitions ahead
of the 2027 general election. We must warn that this project, if allowed to continue unchecked, poses a grave danger to Nigeria’s democratic future.

Weaponisation of the EFCC

There is a discernible pattern of persecution of the opposition by the EFCC with the sole objective of weakening same for the benefit of the ruling APC. This disturbing pattern mirrors a long-standing sentiment openly expressed years ago by a former National Chairman of the ruling APC, Adams Oshiomhole, who declared when receiving defectors from the PDP: “Once you have joined APC, all your sins are forgiven.” Whether intended as political rhetoric or not, this statement has come to symbolise a troubling reality: allegations against members of the ruling party are routinely perceived to be overlooked, while even unsubstantiated accusations against opposition figures are vigorously pursued and subjected to media trial.
A few recent examples reinforce this perception. Months ago, a minister was implicated in a financial scandal so blatant that only sustained public outrage forced her resignation. Yet, long after stepping down, she has neither been charged nor arraigned by the EFCC and is now actively involved in the President’s re-election campaign. Similarly, another minister remained in office despite the university he claimed to have attended publicly denying his academic certificate. He, too, resigned only after intense public pressure, Months later, no charges have been filed.
Such selective enforcement undermines the legitimacy of anticorruption efforts and erodes public trust. Furthermore, Nigerians are not blind to the sudden empowerment of certain political actors, including individuals appointed to federal executive positions after crossing from the opposition but still claim to be members of opposition party - whose unstated mandate, in the public’s eyes, appears to include the systematic destabilisation of opposition parties through the creation of factions, inducement and the exploitation of judicial processes, allegedly funded by state resources.

Erosion of EFCC’s Independence

The EFCC is a critical national institution, created to safeguard Nigeria’s economic integrity.
Yet today, many Nigerians fear that its independence is steadily being eroded. An agency designed for prevention and accountability risks becoming an instrument of political persecution, undermining both justice and democracy. The President must recognise that evident social and political injustice could snowball into mayhem as the nation approaches another election cycle. This trend must be halted immediately if the nation must be spared a major catastrophe.

OUR DEMANDS
• Depoliticise EFCC: The operations of the EFCC must be urgently shielded from political interference and must not serve the whims and caprices of any President, party or political faction.

• Return EFCC to Its Statutory Mandate: The Commission must refocus on genuine detection and prevention of economic crimes across board, not selective prosecution, media trials or intimidation of opposition figures. For the avoidance of doubt, the Functions and Powers of the Commission are expressly provided for under Sections 6 & 7 respectively.

• Defend Multiparty Democracy: Nigerians must remain eternally vigilant to ensure that the President does not transform the country into a de facto one-party state - as witnessed in Lagos over the last 25 years, where opposition leaders were silenced, coerced or induced into irrelevance.

• Embed Preventive Anti-Corruption Mechanisms: Relying on the Supreme Court ruling on the powers of the EFCC over all public accounts, for true prevention of financial crimes, anti-graft operatives should be embedded in all the payment processes of governments at all levels to ensure compliance with rules of transparency, accountability and probity in public financial transactions. Put differently, the EFCC must recognise and exercise their function as covering both pre and post expenditure. operatives must also be held accountable for any unreported but later detected economic and financial infractions in their respective areas of oversight. To further strengthen the EFCC, we propose that the EFCC Act should be amended for this purpose.

• Establish an Independent Review Body: We call on the Attorney General, in consultation with the National Assembly, to set up an independent review body which should be granted full access to the public accounts of the federal, all states and all local governments covering from 2015 to 2025, with a mandate to conduct a transparent, comprehensive review of financial transactions and publish its findings. Such a review will expose the EFCC’s pattern of selective prosecution of opposition figures and reveal that many current officials of the federal government—and those of ruling-party-controlled states—should have long been prosecuted for economic and financial crimes, but were shielded due to their political affiliation. Based on its findings, the independent body should also propose amendments to EFCC’s enabling law to strengthen the agency for more effective and efficient prevention of financial crimes.
This proposed body is to be chaired by an eminent judge, and composed of the following:
- Representatives from civil society organisations
- Representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association
- Representatives of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria
- Representatives of Institute of Chartered Bankers
- The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit
- Representatives of anti-graft agencies
- Representatives of the Police
- Representatives of the DSS
- Representatives of the Armed Forces
- Representatives of all political parties with a seat in the National Assembly.

A Call to Defend Nigeria’s Democracy

We call on all patriotic Nigerians across party lines, professions, regions and faiths to stand firm. Our democracy is under threat through the deliberate and systematic weakening of opposition forces, with the EFCC as the central instrument in this troubling strategy.

In the coming weeks, we will provide more details, and also engage foreign partners of Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies and diplomatic missions, including United States, UK, Canada, EU, World Bank Office, United Nations, to express our deep concern about the EFCC increasingly becoming a willing tool in a broader scheme to weaken opposition in Nigeria, and also demand a reform of the anti graft agency.
Nigeria’s democracy demands our vigilance, courage and unity, as Edmund Burke, an Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher, warned: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing".
We are equally guided by the enduring words of Martin Luther King Jnr: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil ......In the end we shall remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Now is the time for all of us to rise in defence of our cherished multiparty democracy, and indeed, in defence of the very soul of our nation.
We must make a deliberate choice not to be remembered by posterity for our Silence.
Nigeria belongs to all of us - not to a single party or a single leader.
Signed,
Sen. David Mark, GCON
Alh. Atiku Abubakar, GCON
Mallam Lawal Batagarawa
Chief Bode George
Mr. Peter Obi, CON
Chief John Odigie-Oyegun

*NOOOO!!! THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MUST WAKE UP TO ITS MANDATED DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITIES TO REVERSE THIS CRIMINAL PROCEDURE BEFORE PBAT COMPLETES NIGERIA'S WHOLESALE ECONOMIC SLAVERY TO FRANCE!! COULD THIS BE THE OUTCOME OF THE NINE VISITS TO FRANCE IN THE GUISE OF 'WORKING HOLIDAYS' AND NO DISCLOSURE OF THE 'WORK' BEING DONE IN PARIS?! HABA!! NASS CANNOT PROCEED ON ANY CHRISTMAS BREAK UNTIL THIS IS HANDLED WITH UTMOST IMMEDIATE URGENCY. HOW COULD NOBODY SEE THIS DAYLIGHT BLUNDER IN ALL OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY??!!*
RPG
🏼🏼🏼🏼

*Tax Data Sovereignty: Truncate The FIRS-France Deal Now.*

Yesterday, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) signed an MoU with France’s Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP), handing one of Europe’s most sophisticated tax agencies direct collaboration on Nigeria’s digital tax infrastructure. Whilst the gains are projected all over our newspapers, it is important to note that this is not a harmless technical partnership; it is the latest and most dangerous chapter in a long campaign by foreign interests to gain control over Nigeria’s sovereign tax data.

I warned about this exact scenario nine months ago in my keynote speech “ _Protecting Our Tax Sovereignty_ ” at the Public Hearing on Tax Reforms organized by the Youths in Parliament March, 2025.

In my speech then I said,
“Nigeria is a fintech powerhouse. We have Flutterwave, PayStack, Interswitch, PiggyVest, Bamboo, and NIBSS — we lead Africa in innovation and internet usage. Our greatest asset is our people. Yet foreign interests are circling, offering ‘help’ that comes at the cost of our economic independence. Taxpayer data is national power. Allowing foreign control over this data is a threat to national security._ ”

In my Senate Pressroom address on March 26, 2025, I stated to the press that *if you allow your tax information into the hands of foreign interests, it is as good as handing over the keys to your house and bedroom to a visitor who visited you* .

This preceded my meeting with Senator Ned Munir Nwoko on amending his Nigerian Data Protection Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (SB 650) to include new paragraphs to protect our financial and gps data as ‘sensitive data’, and also promoting new clauses to protect our data from foreign interests. Senator Ned Nwoko listened keenly, directing his team to engage further while we prepare for the bill's public hearing.

Unfortunately, the tax reform bills passed without these protections, and now, this MoU arrives, unscrutinized.

No foreign nation helps for free; they gain leverage over our economic weaknesses. If France assesses which sectors thrive or falter, they can sway trade, investments, and negotiations in their favor. Why bypass our homegrown giants?

Nine months ago, in a House of Assembly speech, I queried: Why not engage PayStack, Flutterwave, Interswitch, Bamboo, and NIBSS; the toast of the continent, instead of signing away to France? Nigerians have built world-class Core Banking Applications; we don't need outsiders to "fix" what we pioneered.

*Why the FIRS-France MoU Is a Direct National Security Threat*

- Loss of Economic Control
Any country that outsources its tax data management becomes a financial puppet.

Mass Surveillance & Exploitation

- Foreign-controlled systems open the door to espionage, digital colonization, and economic sabotage.

- Geopolitical Blackmail
Real-time visibility into which sectors thrive and which sectors struggle gives France leverage in every future trade, investment, and loan negotiation.
No serious country hands its tax backbone to a foreign power. None.

In my submission to Senator Ned in support of his bill, *these were the amendments I proposed to block scenarios like the FIRS-France deal:*

- Classify financial data, including tax records, as Sensitive Personal Data under Section 65 of the NDPA 2023.

- Require that any service provider processing sensitive tax data must be at least 80% Nigerian-owned and Nigerian-controlled (new subsection to Section 29).

- Mandate heightened security and local ownership requirements for tax data under Section 39 (Data Security).

- Force disclosure of nationality and ownership of all subcontractors handling tax records (Section 44).

- Extend cross-border transfer restrictions (Sections 41-43) to domestic processors that are foreign-owned.

- Empower the Nigeria Data Protection Commission to set minimum Nigerian ownership thresholds for entities accessing tax data (Section 61).

These amendments would have made the FIRS-France partnership legally impossible without National Assembly approval. Yet the tax reform bills were passed, and this MoU was signed without incorporating a single one of them.

*I repeat the exact demands I made in March 2025:*

The full execution of Nigeria’s tax reforms must remain 100% in Nigerian hands.
No foreign entity should have access to Nigerian tax data, financial transactions, or national digital records.

homegrown institutions — NIBSS, Flutterwave, PayStack, Interswitch, and others — must be contracted to build and run our tax technology.
all foreign-led digital tax integration proposals, including the FIRS-France MoU, must be terminated with immediate effect.

National Assembly must urgently pass the data-sovereignty amendments listed above before the Nigeria Revenue Service commences operations in January 2026.
Tax data is the heartbeat of our economy, and no nation surrenders its heartbeat and expects to remain sovereign.

The National Assembly, the Presidency, and every patriotic Nigerian must rise now and stop this dangerous precedent. Our economic future must remain firmly in Nigerian hands. Protecting our national sovereignty is a key responsibility for a nationalist driven administration.

*Dr. Segun Adebayo*
*Executive Director, CAfPRA*
*11th December, 2025*

CSMN urges expedited action on proposed intervention in Nigeria to end bloodshed https://guardian.ng/news/csmn-urges-expedited-action-on-proposed-intervention-in-nigeria-to-end-bloodshed/

*NOOOO!!! THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MUST WAKE UP TO ITS MANDATED DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITIES TO REVERSE THIS CRIMINAL PROCEDURE BEFORE PBAT COMPLETES NIGERIA'S WHOLESALE ECONOMIC SLAVERY TO FRANCE!! COULD THIS BE THE OUTCOME OF THE NINE VISITS TO FRANCE IN THE GUISE OF 'WORKING HOLIDAYS' AND NO DISCLOSURE OF THE 'WORK' BEING DONE IN PARIS?! HABA!! NASS CANNOT PROCEED ON ANY CHRISTMAS BREAK UNTIL THIS IS HANDLED WITH UTMOST IMMEDIATE URGENCY. HOW COULD NOBODY SEE THIS DAYLIGHT BLUNDER IN ALL OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY??!!*
RPG
🏼🏼🏼🏼

*Tax Data Sovereignty: Truncate The FIRS-France Deal Now.*

Yesterday, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) signed an MoU with France’s Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP), handing one of Europe’s most sophisticated tax agencies direct collaboration on Nigeria’s digital tax infrastructure. Whilst the gains are projected all over our newspapers, it is important to note that this is not a harmless technical partnership; it is the latest and most dangerous chapter in a long campaign by foreign interests to gain control over Nigeria’s sovereign tax data.

I warned about this exact scenario nine months ago in my keynote speech “ _Protecting Our Tax Sovereignty_ ” at the Public Hearing on Tax Reforms organized by the Youths in Parliament March, 2025.

In my speech then I said,
“Nigeria is a fintech powerhouse. We have Flutterwave, PayStack, Interswitch, PiggyVest, Bamboo, and NIBSS — we lead Africa in innovation and internet usage. Our greatest asset is our people. Yet foreign interests are circling, offering ‘help’ that comes at the cost of our economic independence. Taxpayer data is national power. Allowing foreign control over this data is a threat to national security._ ”

In my Senate Pressroom address on March 26, 2025, I stated to the press that *if you allow your tax information into the hands of foreign interests, it is as good as handing over the keys to your house and bedroom to a visitor who visited you* .

This preceded my meeting with Senator Ned Munir Nwoko on amending his Nigerian Data Protection Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (SB 650) to include new paragraphs to protect our financial and gps data as ‘sensitive data’, and also promoting new clauses to protect our data from foreign interests. Senator Ned Nwoko listened keenly, directing his team to engage further while we prepare for the bill's public hearing.

Unfortunately, the tax reform bills passed without these protections, and now, this MoU arrives, unscrutinized.

No foreign nation helps for free; they gain leverage over our economic weaknesses. If France assesses which sectors thrive or falter, they can sway trade, investments, and negotiations in their favor. Why bypass our homegrown giants?

Nine months ago, in a House of Assembly speech, I queried: Why not engage PayStack, Flutterwave, Interswitch, Bamboo, and NIBSS; the toast of the continent, instead of signing away to France? Nigerians have built world-class Core Banking Applications; we don't need outsiders to "fix" what we pioneered.

*Why the FIRS-France MoU Is a Direct National Security Threat*

- Loss of Economic Control
Any country that outsources its tax data management becomes a financial puppet.

Mass Surveillance & Exploitation

- Foreign-controlled systems open the door to espionage, digital colonization, and economic sabotage.

- Geopolitical Blackmail
Real-time visibility into which sectors thrive and which sectors struggle gives France leverage in every future trade, investment, and loan negotiation.
No serious country hands its tax backbone to a foreign power. None.

In my submission to Senator Ned in support of his bill, *these were the amendments I proposed to block scenarios like the FIRS-France deal:*

- Classify financial data, including tax records, as Sensitive Personal Data under Section 65 of the NDPA 2023.

- Require that any service provider processing sensitive tax data must be at least 80% Nigerian-owned and Nigerian-controlled (new subsection to Section 29).

- Mandate heightened security and local ownership requirements for tax data under Section 39 (Data Security).

- Force disclosure of nationality and ownership of all subcontractors handling tax records (Section 44).

- Extend cross-border transfer restrictions (Sections 41-43) to domestic processors that are foreign-owned.

- Empower the Nigeria Data Protection Commission to set minimum Nigerian ownership thresholds for entities accessing tax data (Section 61).

These amendments would have made the FIRS-France partnership legally impossible without National Assembly approval. Yet the tax reform bills were passed, and this MoU was signed without incorporating a single one of them.

*I repeat the exact demands I made in March 2025:*

The full execution of Nigeria’s tax reforms must remain 100% in Nigerian hands.
No foreign entity should have access to Nigerian tax data, financial transactions, or national digital records.

homegrown institutions — NIBSS, Flutterwave, PayStack, Interswitch, and others — must be contracted to build and run our tax technology.
all foreign-led digital tax integration proposals, including the FIRS-France MoU, must be terminated with immediate effect.

National Assembly must urgently pass the data-sovereignty amendments listed above before the Nigeria Revenue Service commences operations in January 2026.
Tax data is the heartbeat of our economy, and no nation surrenders its heartbeat and expects to remain sovereign.

The National Assembly, the Presidency, and every patriotic Nigerian must rise now and stop this dangerous precedent. Our economic future must remain firmly in Nigerian hands. Protecting our national sovereignty is a key responsibility for a nationalist driven administration.

*Dr. Segun Adebayo*
*Executive Director, CAfPRA*
*11th December, 2025*

MY RESPONSE: “TINUBU MOVES TO REWRITE NIGERIA…”

The responsibility for writing a constitution does not reside in the Presidency or even in the National Assembly. A true constitution derives its authority from the people—from the various ethnic nationalities and constituent communities that make up a country. That is why it is called a social contract. It is the people who give a constitution to their government, not the other way around.

If government alone writes a constitution, then every president will feel entitled to draft his own version, imposing his preferences on over 200 million citizens. That is not democracy; that is constitutional manipulation. Democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people—and that begins with a people-driven constitutional foundation.

If President Tinubu is truly serious, sincere, and committed to restructuring Nigeria, then the correct path is not unilateral constitutional proposals. The right step is to convene a sovereign dialogue of Nigeria’s ethnic nationalities—Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Ijaw, Tiv, Kanuri, and all others—to renegotiate the terms of our union. Only such a foundational conversation can produce a legitimate constitution that reflects our diversity, aspirations, and future.

Renaming the country or adjusting powers between the centre and the states cannot replace this fundamental requirement. Surface reforms will not fix a structurally defective foundation. Nigeria must return to the people, because they alone possess the authority to determine how they wish to coexist.

If Tinubu genuinely desires a new Nigeria, he should begin with the people—not with executive drafts, political shortcuts, or media announcements. The future of Nigeria must be negotiated, not dictated.

Update

US House of Reps Resolution on Nigeria

The Resolution introduced yesterday by Rep. Riley M Moore at the US House of Representatives concerning the events in Nigeria.

H. RES.

Condemning the persecution of Christians in Nigeria and standing ready to support President Donald J. Trump in taking decisive action to end the existential threat that persecuted Christians face in Nigeria.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. Moore of West Virginia submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on ————

RESOLUTION

Condemning the persecution of Christians in Nigeria and standing ready to support President Donald J. Trump in taking decisive action to end the existential threat that persecuted Christians face in Nigeria.

Whereas Clauses

Whereas Nigeria is experiencing the highest levels of violence against Christians in the world since Boko Haram’s insurgency began in 2009;

Whereas Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Fulani militants have systematically targeted Christian communities through massacres, church burnings, kidnappings, and sexual violence, leaving villages destroyed and millions displaced;

Whereas estimates indicate that between 50,000 and 100,000 Christians have been martyred for their faith since 2009, with more than 7,000 Christians killed in 2025—an average of 35 Christians murdered every day—and over 19,000 churches attacked or destroyed;

Whereas, in Benue and Plateau States alone, more than 9,500 people—mostly Christians—were killed between May 2023 and May 2025 by Fulani militants, while more than half a million were displaced from their homes;

Whereas these attacks are not random or merely intercommunal, but deliberate campaigns of religious cleansing, as demonstrated by coordinated assaults during Christian holy days such as the 2022 Pentecost Massacre, Christmas Eve 2023 Massacre, and the Holy Week 2025 killings that claimed hundreds of Christian lives;

Whereas, despite assertions that such violence arises from general instability rather than specific targeting of Christians, when adjusted for population sizes in various states, Christians in Nigeria are being killed at a rate at least five times higher than that of Muslims;

Whereas countless pastors and priests have been kidnapped, tortured, or murdered, with over 250 clergy attacked or killed in the past decade—including the recent tragedy of Father Sylvester Okechukwu, who was kidnapped and murdered on Ash Wednesday in 2025;

Whereas the Nigerian Government has repeatedly failed to respond to early warnings of impending attacks, such as the October 14, 2025, massacre in Rachas village, Plateau State, where a pastor’s warning of a Fulani offensive was dismissed by the Nigerian Army, which publicly condemned the pastor for disseminating “fake news” and accused him of stoking division, leading to the killing of at least a dozen Christians the next day;

Whereas Nigeria’s federal and state authorities routinely deny the existence of religious persecution, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stating in September 2025 that “there’s no religious persecution in Nigeria,” despite overwhelming documentation to the contrary;

Whereas, even after President Donald Trump announced his decision to designate Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) on October 31, 2025, President Tinubu stated that “the characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality,” despite the fact that more Christians are being killed in Nigeria than in the rest of the world combined;

Whereas Nigeria is one of only seven countries in the world that retains a blasphemy law carrying the death penalty, enforced in twelve northern states under Sharia criminal law, and enforces other blasphemy laws as well, which have been used to imprison and threaten Christians, minority Muslims, and other dissenters;

Whereas Christian believers such as Rhoda Jatau and Deborah Yakubu have faced mob violence, imprisonment, and even murder for alleged blasphemy, while perpetrators of such crimes against blasphemy-accused individuals often go unpunished;

Whereas these blasphemy laws and mob killings have been condemned by the United Nations, the European Parliament, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice as grave violations of international human rights law and religious freedom norms;

Whereas, in 2020 and again in 2025, President Donald J. Trump designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, unlocking tools for sanctions and other diplomatic measures against the Government of Nigeria in response to severe violations of religious freedom;

Whereas the Biden administration’s 2021 decision to remove Nigeria from the CPC list coincided with a marked escalation in violence and persecution against Christians;

Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended Nigeria’s redesignation as a Country of Particular Concern every year since 2009, citing ongoing, egregious, and systematic violations of religious freedom; and

Whereas continued silence from the global community only emboldens radical Islamic terrorists, and the moral voice of the United States must be raised on behalf of persecuted Christians in Nigeria: Now, therefore, be it—

Resolved Clauses

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

1. Condemns the ongoing persecution and targeted killing of Christians in Nigeria by Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Fulani militant groups, and the Nigerian Government’s failure to act in defense of Christians;

2. Stands ready to support President Donald J. Trump in taking decisive action to end the existential threat that persecuted Christians face in Nigeria;

3. Calls upon the United States Government to use all available diplomatic, economic, and security tools to pressure the Nigerian Government to—

(A) End impunity for perpetrators of religiously motivated violence;

(B) Protect Christian communities and clergy from further attacks;

(C) Work to return internally displaced persons to their homelands, particularly among Christian communities; and

(D) Repeal blasphemy laws and release all prisoners detained for their faith;

4. Encourages coordination with international partners to deliver humanitarian aid directly to victims through trusted nongovernmental and faith-based organizations; and

5. Affirms the commitment of the United States to stand in solidarity with Christians and to defend their right to practice their faith without fear of persecution, violence, or death.

Document Reference:
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Dated: November 4, 2025 (11:24 a.m.)
File No.: (102933815)