REP. STUTZMAN INTRODUCES HOUSE COMPANION TO SEN. CRUZ'S NIGERIA RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2025

Blaze Exclusive
October 22, 2025
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Marlin Stutzman (IN-03) introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025. Identical legislation was recently introduced by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX).
Conditions for Christians in Nigeria are rapidly deteriorating. Jihadists have murdered over 7,000 Christians and abducted an additional 7,800 in 2025 alone. Since Boko Haram launched its insurgency in 2009, over 125,000 Christians have been slain, and jihadist groups are destroying roughly 100 churches every month. Survivors and eyewitnesses of this violence have testified that these terror attacks are religiously motivated.
The bill will protect religious freedom in Nigeria by:
  • Placing targeted sanctions on officials who enforce Sharia law and facilitate violence against Christians and other minority groups.
  • Designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.
  • Ensuring that Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa remain designated as Entities of Particular Concern.
Blaze Media was first to report on the legislation with an exclusive article.
"It is the responsibility of the United States to protect religious freedom worldwide,” said Rep. Stutzman. “Implementing Sharia law and condoning the murder of innocent people is barbaric. We must use the targeted tools we have at our disposal to combat religious violence in all its forms. I am proud to partner with Senator Cruz to introduce this important legislation, which will create real consequences for those responsible for violence and save the lives of thousands of Christians who are facing persecution."
Senator Cruz said, “Nigerian Christians are being targeted and executed for their faith by Islamist terrorist groups, and are being forced to submit to sharia law and blasphemy laws across Nigeria. It is long past time to impose real costs on the Nigerian officials who facilitate these activities, and my Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act uses new and existing tools to do exactly that. I urge my colleagues to advance this critical legislation expeditiously.”
Issues: Congress