United States Senator Ted Cruz has unveiled new legislative measures aimed at curbing the enforcement of blasphemy and Sharia laws in Nigeria.

This comes in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged violations of religious freedom.

In a post on X on Friday, Cruz expressed satisfaction with Trump’s move, noting that he has long advocated for stronger action to address what he described as the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

He described the designation as a significant step toward holding to account Nigerian officials who, he said, have enabled or tolerated violence and discrimination based on religion.

The senator explained that his proposed legislation would strengthen Washington’s position by imposing consequences on individuals responsible for enforcing blasphemy and Sharia-related restrictions.

He added that he intends to collaborate with the U.S. administration and members of Congress to advance the bill and ensure its full implementation.

Special Counsel to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, Aloy Ejimakor, has reacted to the United States President, Donald Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern’ following reports of alleged Christian genocide in the country.

Naija News reports that Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, claimed that “radical Islamists” were responsible for widespread killings of Christians across Nigeria.

He subsequently designated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” saying the United States “cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening.”

In a post via his X handle, Ejimakor said designating Nigeria as CPC was inevitable because the government allegedly teargassed peaceful protesters but romanced terrorists publicly.

He wrote, “The aftermaths of taking 2 direct teargas hits for expressing my legal right to peaceable assembly.

“When a nation tear-gasses peaceful protesters but romances terrorists in full glare of the public, being slammed as a Country of Particular Concern becomes inevitable. #FreeMNK.”

Recall that Ejimakor and a few others were recently arrested by the police in Abuja over the free Nnamdi Kanu protest.

The protest convened by activist politician, Omoyele Sowore, was meant to be staged at the presidential Villa, where protesters will demand Kanu’s release from President Bola Tinubu.

Following their arrest, Ejimakor, Kanu’s brother, Prince Emmanuel, Sowore and others were arraigned before a Kuje Magistrate Court and remanded in prison.

In the process of moving them, Ejimakor and the other protesters were said to have been punished with teargas shot at them.

While in remand, Ejimakor collapsed but was promptly attended to by the medical team in Kuje prison

Controversial Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, has described the allegation of a Christian genocide in Nigeria as “politically motivated,” insisting that the renewed international attention on religious persecution is a ploy targeted at influencing the 2027 general elections.

Reacting to the United States’ decision to reclassify Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), Gumi took to his official Facebook page on Saturday, accusing some “unpatriotic clerics” of collaborating with foreign powers to tarnish the country’s image.

He said, “We have many unpatriotic bigot clerics that are aiding imperialists to divide us further so that they can pillage our resources.”

The cleric was responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement on Friday, placing Nigeria on a religious freedom watchlist over alleged killings of Christians, a claim the Nigerian government has firmly denied.

Gumi dismissed the U.S. move as hypocritical and meddlesome, arguing that Washington had no moral ground to lecture Nigeria on internal issues while facing its own social and economic challenges.

He said, “At a time when Americans are lining up for food rations, what concerns them with our internal problems?

“Yes, this is not to say efforts are not being made to tackle insecurity, but the right combination of strategies is what is lacking to completely nail it. Now they want to compound the problem.”

He claimed that some non-governmental organizations operating in Nigeria were serving as fronts for arming criminal groups under the guise of humanitarian assistance.

“Those who armed the outlaws as NGOs and come around to claim piety, the danger to us is that they form and start arming another militia like they have done in other places,” he warned.

The Kaduna-based cleric lamented what he described as an ongoing campaign to portray Nigeria as a country at war with Christians, insisting that the real crisis was criminality, not religion.

“Nigeria is under their evil eye of religious bigotry! It is evident now we are sharing a country not only with evil people from banditry, BH, IPOB, and other criminals, as confessed recently by Governor Soludo of Anambra, but also with many unpatriotic bigot clerics,” he stated.