Twelve northern governors, prominent traditional rulers, and senior judges are at the centre of a looming diplomatic storm as the United States Congress considers a bill that could impose far-reaching sanctions on them over alleged complicity in what American lawmakers describe as a “Christian genocide” and systemic persecution under Nigeria’s sharia and blasphemy laws.
Punch Newspaper reports that, this follows the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern by President Donald Trump and his instruction to the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to act without delay.
On Friday, Trump, in a post on Truth, lamented that thousands of Christians were being killed in Nigeria and asked Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into the matter and report back to him.
The Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, sponsored by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, designates Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” for religious persecution.
The bill proposes direct sanctions against public officials and religious authorities accused of promoting or tolerating violence against Christians and other religious minorities.
In December 2020, the US Department of State designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern for the first time ever due to what it termed systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, violent Boko Haram attacks, and frequent ethno-religious conflicts exacerbated by the judiciary system.
Under the bill, introduced on September 9, 2025, the US Secretary of State will, within 90 days of its passage, submit a report to Congress listing Nigerian officials, including governors, judges, and monarchs who have “promoted, enacted, or maintained blasphemy laws” or “tolerated violence by non-state actors invoking religious justification.”
The sanctions, to be implemented under Executive Order 13818, the US government’s Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability framework, could result in visa bans, asset freezes, and financial restrictions for those found culpable.
One of the highlights of the bill is the implementation of Sharia law in northern Nigeria, which it termed the blasphemy law, and believed to be against the Christian population.
Sharia, derived from Islamic jurisprudence, has long existed as a system of personal, moral, and communal regulation among Muslim communities in northern Nigeria.
The major turning point came between 1999 and 2000, shortly after Nigeria’s return to civilian rule, when several northern states, beginning with Zamfara under Governor Ahmad Sani Yerima, expanded Sharia’s jurisdiction to include criminal law and public morality.
Within two years, about 12 northern states had adopted similar Sharia-based penal codes and established parallel Sharia courts alongside existing secular courts.
The affected states include Zamfara, Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kebbi, Yobe, Kaduna, Niger, and Gombe.
However, Kwara, Kogi, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, and Adamawa, though with significant Muslim populations, still operate under the conventional secular legal system, with Sharia limited only to personal status matters such as marriage, inheritance, and family issues for Muslims, rather than criminal or public law.
Recently, the Sharia Council announced moves to establish its presence in parts of the South, beginning with Oyo and Ogun states.
The development sparked tension as both Christian and Muslim groups clashed over the perceived introduction of Sharia in the two states.
The tension, however, eased after the council clarified that it was not setting up a court of law but rather arbitration panels to mediate Muslim-related disputes and offer non-binding advice.
Cruz, while defending the bill, said Nigeria’s leadership had “institutionalised sharia law and enabled jihadist violence.”
“Religious persecution and violence against Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria is endemic.
“Since 2009, over 52,000 Christians have been murdered, 20,000 churches and faith institutions destroyed, and dozens of villages wiped out. The federal and state governments have failed to act, and in many cases, they are complicit.”
The bill underscores that since the adoption of sharia law in Zamfara State in 2000, during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, nearly all 19 northern states had adopted blasphemy provisions in their legal codes.
States such as Kano, Bauchi, Sokoto, and Katsina have drawn global outrage for death sentences imposed over alleged blasphemy, while even southern states like Oyo and Ogun, both with Sharia panels, may now come under investigation.
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