US Senator Ted Cruz has accused the Nigerian government of enabling an environment that allows the persecution and killing of Christians, a claim dismissed by the African Union.
United States Senator Ted Cruz has accused the Nigerian government of creating conditions that enable the persecution and alleged killing of Christians, according to SAHARA REPORTERS. The Texas lawmaker criticised Nigerian authorities for what he described as policies that foster an unsafe environment for religious minorities.
“Nigerian officials know their policies have created an environment in which Christians are being persecuted and slaughtered, including their enforcement of sharia law and their tolerance of Islamist violence,” Cruz wrote. His comments come amid ongoing concerns raised by international organisations such as Open Doors, Amnesty International, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom over rising attacks on Christian communities in northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt.
Cruz’s remarks were in response to African Union Commission Chairman Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, who dismissed claims of a genocide in northern Nigeria while addressing reporters at the United Nations. “There is no genocide in northern Nigeria,” Youssouf stated, adding that the region’s crisis “has nothing to do with the kind of atrocities we see in Sudan or… eastern DRC.” He stressed that the situation is “extremely complex” and cautioned against oversimplifying ongoing violence.
Cruz has been a consistent critic of Nigeria’s handling of religious freedom issues and has previously pushed for stronger U.S. oversight, including potential sanctions. The Nigerian government continues to deny accusations of religious persecution, attributing the violence to criminality, banditry, and farmer herder conflicts.