By Obinna Uballa
The Nigerian Presidency has strongly dismissed claims by United States Senator Ted Cruz that government officials in the country are complicit in the killing of Christians.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, described the allegations as “malicious, contrived lies,” insisting that Nigeria does not have a religious war and that terrorists and bandits kill indiscriminately.
“Senator, stop these malicious, contrived lies against my country. We do not have a religious war in my country,” Onanuga wrote on X on Saturday. “The degraded Boko Haram terrorists operating on the fringes of Nigeria’s North-East target everyone. They attack farmers, our soldiers. The bandits in the North-West kill worshippers in their mosques. Christians are not targeted. We have religious harmony in our country. Stop these malicious lies.”
His response came after Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, a bill that seeks to sanction Nigerian officials accused of ignoring or facilitating the “mass murder of Christians” by Islamist jihadists.
The legislation also calls for targeted sanctions on officials who enforce Sharia and blasphemy laws, directs the US Secretary of State to designate Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” and mandates that Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa remain designated as entities of concern.
The senator doubled down on Friday, citing reports that more than 5,000 people had fled Borno State into neighbouring Cameroon after Boko Haram militants captured the border town of Kirawa. “Officials in Nigeria are ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists,” he wrote. “It’s time to hold those responsible accountable. My Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act would target these officials with powerful sanctions and other tools.”
President Tinubu, speaking in Owerri, Imo State on Tuesday, also dismissed allegations of religious genocide in Nigeria as unfounded. He said no religion is under threat, stressing that the country is built on “faith and resilience” and has, after 65 years of independence, learned to value its cultural and religious diversity.
Cruz’s proposal comes amid wider debates in Washington, but a legislative impasse that triggered a US government shutdown has stalled its progress for now.
