[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 866 Introduced in House (IH)]
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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 insurgency began in 2009;
Whereas Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Fulani
militants have systematically targeted Christian communities through
massacres, church burnings, kidnappings, and sexual violence, leaving
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 average 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 intercommunal, but deliberate
campaigns of religious cleansing, as demonstrated by coordinated
assaults during Christian holy days, such as the 2022 Pentecost
Massacre, Christmas 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 Christians, 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, Plateau state, where a pastor's warning of a Fulani
offensive was dismissed by the Nigerian Army who publicly condemned the
pastor for disseminating ``fake news'' and accused him of stoking
division, and at least a dozen Christians 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
intolerant 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, enforced 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 Deborah 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 Parliament, and the Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice as grave violations of
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 International 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 Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
has recommended Nigeria's redesignation as a Country of Particular
Concern every year since 2009, citing ongoing, egregious, and systematic
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 targeted killing
of Christians in Nigeria by Boko Haram, the Islamic State West
Africa Province, and Fulani militant groups, and the Nigerian
Government's failure to act in defense of Christians;
(2) stands ready to support President Donald J. Trump in
taking decisive action to end the existential threat that
persecuted Christians face in Nigeria;
(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 religiously
motivated violence;
(B) protect Christian communities and clergy from
further attacks;
(C) work to return internally-displaced persons 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 victims 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.
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