CPC blacklist: Benue, 11 other Nigerian governors, top officials risk US sanctions

A major diplomatic clash is brewing between Nigeria and the United States as twelve northern governors, senior judges, and influential traditional rulers have been listed for possible sanctions by the US Congress over alleged involvement in what American lawmakers describe as a “Christian genocide” and systematic persecution under Nigeria’s Sharia and blasphemy laws.

The development follows President Donald Trump’s recent directive declaring Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and instructing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take swift action.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump expressed dismay over the continued killing of Christians in Nigeria, urging Congressman Riley Moore, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, and others to “immediately investigate the situation and report back.”

The move comes under the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, a bill sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz, which officially labels Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” for ongoing religious persecution.

If enacted, the legislation would impose strict sanctions on Nigerian political leaders, judicial officers, and religious figures accused of encouraging or turning a blind eye to violence against Christians and minority groups.

The US Department of State had, in December 2020, for the first time designated Nigeria as a CPC over what it termed “systematic and egregious violations of religious freedom,” referencing persistent Boko Haram attacks, banditry, and ethnoreligious conflicts.

Under the latest bill, presented on September 9, 2025, the US Secretary of State is mandated to submit a detailed list within 90 days identifying Nigerian governors, judges, and monarchs who have “promoted, enacted, or maintained blasphemy laws” or “tolerated religiously motivated violence.”

Those found culpable could face visa denials, asset seizures, and other financial restrictions under Executive Order 13818, which aligns with the US Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability framework.

The legislation highlights the enforcement of Sharia law across northern Nigeria as a core concern, branding it a key driver of discrimination against Christians.

Sharia, rooted in Islamic jurisprudence, has historically governed moral and family matters among Muslims in Nigeria. However, after the country’s return to democracy in 1999, several states, starting with Zamfara under then-Governor Ahmad Sani Yerima, expanded Sharia to criminal justice and public morality.

By 2002, twelve northern states including Zamfara, Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kebbi, Yobe, Kaduna, Niger, and Gombe had adopted Sharia-based penal codes, operating parallel courts alongside the secular judiciary.

States such as Benue, Plateau, Kwara, Nasarawa, Taraba, Adamawa, and Kogi, despite having sizable Muslim populations, have retained the conventional legal system, restricting Sharia to personal matters like marriage and inheritance.

Recently, controversy erupted when the Sharia Council announced plans to extend its activities to the South, particularly in Oyo and Ogun states, triggering protests from religious groups. The council later clarified that it sought only to set up arbitration panels not courts to resolve Muslim-related disputes.

Defending the bill, Senator Ted Cruz accused Nigerian authorities of “institutionalising sharia law and enabling jihadist violence.”

“Religious persecution and violence against Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria is endemic.
“Since 2009, over 52,000 Christians have been murdered, 20,000 churches and faith institutions destroyed, and dozens of villages wiped out. The federal and state governments have failed to act, and in many cases, they are complicit,” Cruz said.

The bill further notes that since Zamfara’s adoption of Sharia law in 2000 under President Olusegun Obasanjo, nearly all northern states have embedded blasphemy clauses in their penal codes.

Global attention has particularly focused on  Kano, Bauchi, Sokoto, and Katsina , where death sentences have been handed down for alleged blasphemy. Even southern states like Oyo and Ogun with emerging Sharia panels could now fall under Washington’s scrutiny once the bill becomes law.