*You’re Facilitating Blasphemy Laws, Sharia –Senator Cruz
*You Lie, Christians Not Targeted, Religious Harmony Reigns Here -Presidency
Nigeria’s Presidency and a respected US lawmaker, Senator Ted Cruz, are at loggerheads over the latter’s bill seeking “powerful sanctions and other tools” by the global superpower to punish government officials for what the American lawmaker called their ignoring or enabling of attacks on and mass murder of Christians.
Reacting, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga urged the Texas senator to ‘stop these malicious lies”, insisting that Christians are not targeted in Nigeria.
Senator Cruz’s in-the-works legislation, titled ‘Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025’, also seeks targeted sanctions on government officials said to have enforced Sharia and blasphemy laws.
These were contained in his post on X.
The bill also urges the US government to classify Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) on religious freedom, and to retain Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa on America’s terror list.
The bill was tabled in early September.
In it, Sen. Cruz claims Nigeria’s leaders are “ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists.”
Cruz’s legislative push was given oxygen by recent reports that over 5,000 persons scampered out of Borno State in Nigeria’s troubled North-East into neighbouring Cameroon following Boko Haram’s capture of the border town of Kirawa.
Cruz said: “It’s time to hold those responsible accountable. My bill would target these officials with powerful sanctions and other tools.”
A partial shutdown of the US government, has, however, stalled further legislative action on the matter.
On the senator’s push, Onanuga wrote: “Senator, stop these malicious, contrived lies against my country. We do not have a religious war in my country.
“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.”
“PHOTO CAPTION: Senator Cruz.
