IV 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 866 
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 
NOVEMBER 7, 2025 
Mr. MOORE of West Virginia (for himself, Mr. HUNT, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, 
Mr. CLYDE, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. BIGGS of Arizona, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. 
MESSMER, Mr. ALFORD, Mr. STUTZMAN, Mr. MOORE of Alabama, Mr. 
GILL of Texas, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. PALMER, 
Mr. STEUBE, Mr. MCDOWELL, Mr. JAMES, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mrs. LUNA, 
and Mr. PFLUGER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
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 Nigeria is experiencing the highest levels of violence 
against Christians in the world since Boko Haram’s in-
surgency began in 2009; 
Whereas Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Prov-
ince (ISWAP), and Fulani militants have systematically 
targeted Christian communities through massacres, 
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•HRES 866 IH 
church burnings, kidnappings, and sexual violence, leav-
ing 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 aver-
age 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 intercom-
munal, but deliberate campaigns of religious cleansing, as 
demonstrated by coordinated assaults during Christian 
holy days, such as the 2022 Pentecost Massacre, Christ-
mas 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 Chris-
tians, when adjusted for population sizes in various 
states, Christians in Nigeria are being killed at a rate at 
least 5 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, Pla-
teau state, where a pastor’s warning of a Fulani offensive 
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•HRES 866 IH 
was dismissed by the Nigerian Army who publicly con-
demned the pastor for disseminating ‘‘fake news’’ and ac-
cused him of stoking division, and at least a dozen Chris-
tians were killed 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 ‘‘the characterisation of Nigeria as religiously in-
tolerant does not reflect our national reality’’, despite the 
reality that more Christians are being killed in Nigeria 
than the rest of the world combined; 
Whereas Nigeria is 1 of only 7 countries in the world that 
retains a blasphemy law carrying the death penalty, en-
forced in 12 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 Debo-
rah 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 Par-
liament, and the Economic Community of West African 
States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice as grave violations of 
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•HRES 866 IH 
international human rights law and religious freedom 
norms; 
Whereas, in 2020 and again in 2025, President Donald J. 
Trump designated Nigeria as a CPC under the Inter-
national 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 has coincided with a marked 
escalation in violence and persecution against Christians; 
Whereas the United States Commission on International Reli-
gious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended Nigeria’s 
redesignation as a Country of Particular Concern every 
year since 2009, citing ongoing, egregious, and system-
atic violations of religious freedom; and 
Whereas continued silence from the global community only 
emboldens the 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, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) condemns the ongoing persecution and tar-
geted killing of Christians in Nigeria by Boko 
Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province, and 
Fulani militant groups, and the Nigerian Govern-
ment’s failure to act in defense of Christians; 
(2) stands ready to support President Donald 
J. Trump in taking decisive action to end the exis-
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•HRES 866 IH 
tential threat that persecuted Christians face in Ni-
geria; 
(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 reli-
giously motivated violence; 
(B) protect Christian communities and 
clergy from further attacks; 
(C) work to return internally-displaced per-
sons to their homelands, particularly amongst 
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 vic-
tims 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, and even death. 
Æ 
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