House Republicans led by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Riley Moore (R-WV) unveiled new legislation Monday demanding greater accountability from both the U.S. State Department and the Nigerian government over the mass persecution of Christians by jihadist groups.

The proposed “Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act” would require the State Department to issue detailed reports on U.S. efforts to protect persecuted Christians in Nigeria and to pressure Abuja to confront Islamist terror groups and abusive religious laws.

The bill reinforces President Donald Trump’s policy of designating Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for religious freedom violations — a designation Trump first imposed during his initial term, which former President Joe Biden removed shortly after taking office. Trump restored Nigeria’s CPC status in October, citing mounting evidence of Christian slaughter and government inaction.

If passed, the legislation would:

• Mandate an initial State Department report within 90 days, followed by annual reports until Nigeria is removed from the CPC list.

• Track jihadist groups that may qualify as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).

• Monitor Nigeria’s enforcement of Islamic blasphemy laws.

• Identify individuals and organizations eligible for U.S. sanctions.

• Assess Nigeria’s compliance with U.S. international religious freedom laws and humanitarian aid to persecuted Christians.

The bill’s findings paint a grim picture:

“Estimates indicate that between 50,000 and 125,000 Christians have been martyred between 2009 and 2025, with more than 19,000 churches attacked or destroyed,” the legislation states.

It highlights widespread atrocities committed by Fulani militias, Boko Haram, and Islamic State-linked terrorist groups, especially in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region. These attacks include mass killings, kidnappings, village burnings, and forced displacement.

According to the Christian humanitarian organization Open Doors, 72 percent of all Christians murdered for their faith worldwide in 2025 were killed in Nigeria alone.

Rather than stopping the violence, the bill says Nigeria has allowed Muslim-majority states to impose Sharia law on the population, including blasphemy statutes that carry the death penalty.

“Nigeria retains and enforces blasphemy laws carrying the death penalty in northern states under Sharia criminal law; such laws have been used to target Christians, Muslims, and dissenters,” the bill states.

It further accuses the Nigerian government of routinely denying that religious persecution exists and failing to prevent or punish religiously motivated attacks.

Current Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has rejected Trump’s CPC designation, claiming that Nigeria is not religiously intolerant.

“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality,” Tinubu said, insisting his government is protecting freedom of religion.

However, Nigerian officials have pressured marketing firms to downplay jihadist violence and have opposed constitutional reforms that would prohibit the imposition of Sharia law nationwide.

“We differ with them on this idea of amending our constitution,” said presidential adviser Daniel Bwala. “Nigeria is a sovereign state.”

Despite public denials, Nigeria has quietly cooperated with U.S. airstrikes on Islamic State targets and accepted a small American military advisory team to help counter jihadist terror.

Rep. Chris Smith said the bill is necessary because of Nigeria’s persistent refusal to admit the crisis.

“Inaction on the parts of both the Nigerian and U.S. governments only emboldens these radical Islamist thugs to inflict even more misery, suffering, and death upon Christians and non-radical Muslims in Nigeria,” Smith said.

He added that the U.S. must lead by example in defending religious liberty worldwide.

Rep. Riley Moore, who recently visited Nigeria as part of a Trump-directed investigation, said the reality on the ground is far worse than official statements suggest.

“I witnessed firsthand the horrors our brothers and sisters in Christ face and saw the security challenges Nigeria confronts,” Moore said. “The violence against Christians in Nigeria is unspeakable and cannot be ignored.”

The bill now heads to committee, where Republicans say they will push for swift passage to ensure America no longer looks away from what they describe as one of the world’s worst ongoing religious massacres.