The Presidency has accused a group of U.S. lawmakers and lobbyists of driving a coordinated campaign to pressure President Donald Trump into re-designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, a status reserved for nations accused of severe violations of religious freedom. Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Dr. Daniel Bwala, made the allegation on Arise News’ Prime Time on Tuesday, claiming the campaign was rooted in misinformation and aimed at “destabilising Nigeria using religion as a tool.”
“There is a coordinated agenda against Nigeria. Those pushing this narrative are not members of the U.S. executive branch. They are a pack-backed group of senators trying to rile up President Trump to name Nigeria a CPC. Knowing Trump’s disposition, if he genuinely believed their claims, he would have done it three weeks ago,” Bwala said.
He argued that the architects of the campaign were feeding disinformation to U.S. institutions and amplifying isolated incidents of communal conflict to portray Nigeria as a country engaged in religious persecution. “Religion has always been their instrument. They are doing this to fuel division, damage Nigeria’s global image, and trigger international panic,” he added.
The Country of Particular Concern designation, created under the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, empowers Washington to impose sanctions on countries accused of “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” violations of religious freedom.
Nigeria was first designated a CPC in 2020 under President Trump, amid pressure from Christian advocacy groups concerned about terrorism and communal attacks in the Middle Belt. The designation was removed in 2021 by President Joe Biden, who cited improvements in government response, prompting protests from U.S. lawmakers such as Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz. Those lawmakers have continued to advocate for reinstating the designation.
The Nigerian government has consistently rejected claims of religious persecution, maintaining that the security crisis across the country is fuelled by terrorism, banditry, and criminality — not religion. Bwala said the renewed push for the CPC label was politically motivated, insisting that Nigeria would confront the narrative not through lobbying, but with factual counter-messaging.
“In the past, whenever these false claims emerged, Nigerians would rush to lobby in the U.S. That approach is over. You counter Western disinformation with facts,” he stated. His comments come amid heightened international attention on Nigeria’s security challenges, especially in the North-Central region, where deadly attacks have escalated in recent months.
In July, 27 people were killed in Bindi (Jebu) village in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State. A month earlier, over 100 people were killed in Yelwata, Benue State. For over a decade, clashes between farmers and herders, alongside widespread banditry, have claimed thousands of lives and displaced countless residents in Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Plateau, and surrounding states.
Source: https://punchng.com/
