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United States Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz has raised alarm over the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, claiming that individuals are being arrested “literally for just wearing a cross around their neck.”
“Churches are being burned. Pastors are being executed. People are being arrested literally for just wearing a cross around their neck,” Waltz said in a video.
“We are taking the persecution of Christians in Nigeria very seriously,” he added.
.@USAmbUN: Churches are being burned. Pastors are being executed. People are being arrested literally for just wearing a cross around their neck.
We are taking the persecution of Christians in Nigeria very seriously. pic.twitter.com/tdwpabMPwc
— House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority (@HouseForeignGOP) July 22, 2026
The video was shared by the House Foreign Affairs Committee GOP, which shares clips from a congressional hearing featuring Reps Chris Smith and Waltz in response to growing international scrutiny of religious violence in Nigeria, particularly in the country’s northern and central regions where armed groups and militant insurgencies have carried out mass killings, kidnappings and destruction of churches.
The US House Foreign Affairs Committee has been investigating alleged religious persecution in Nigeria since President Donald Trump’s October 31, 2025, directive to probe the “slaughter” of Christians in the country.
Trump redesignated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” in October 2025 over the persecution of Christians by violent Islamist groups.
Congressman Brian Mast, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has described the situation as a “targeted campaign of religious cleansing” rather than inter-communal or resource conflict.
“This is a targeted campaign of religious cleansing,” Mast said.
“Whether it is Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, or radicalised nomadic Fulani militants, the objective is to drive Christians out of their ancestral lands in the Middle Belt and impose a radical Islamist ideology, as has already happened across the northern states, where blasphemy laws are used to oppress.
“As Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I firmly stand with President Trump in his decision to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern. We must demand that the Nigerian government disarm these militias, return displaced families to their homes, and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
According to the 2023 Watch List by Open Doors, Nigeria accounts for 89 percent of Christians martyred worldwide.
A 2023 Vatican report documented the destruction of “over 18,000 churches since 2009” in attacks by Boko Haram militants, Fulani herdsmen, and others.
An August 2024 report from the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa found that approximately 56,000 people died in attacks and about 22,000 people were abducted by terror groups in Nigeria between October 2019 and September 2023.
Smith described Nigeria as “ground zero of religious violence.”
“To be a Christian—or moderate Muslim—living in Nigeria means to be living under the constant threat of murder, rape, and torture by radical Islamist groups, such as Boko Haram and Fulani terrorists,” Smith said.
“The most brutal and murderous anti-Christian persecution in the world—as well as the systemic targeting and killing of moderate Muslims who speak out against radical Islamists or refuse to conform with their extreme ideals—occurs in Nigeria, the ground zero of religious violence.
“The Nigerian government has a fundamental, constitutional obligation to protect its citizens; however, the perpetrators of this persecution operate with complete impunity. The United States is committed to standing firmly with the persecuted, no matter where in the world.
“Under the strong leadership of President Trump, I am confident that the United States will hold the Nigerian government accountable for its complicity in the rampant religious persecution occurring within its borders. The Nigerian government is trying to run out the clock; we cannot allow this to happen. We must act quickly and decisively to save more lives.”
