There is a sustained pressure on the administration of President Donald Trump to act over the alleged genocidal killing of Christians in Nigeria, as U.S. lawmaker Nancy Mace lends her voice to the call for an intervention.

“Bill Maher said what the media refuses to: faith is under fire. You don’t have to be a Christian to see evil for what it is,” stated Ms Mace, who represents South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives, on Wednesday. “What’s happening to Christians in Nigeria is genocide, and pretending it isn’t happening won’t make it stop.”

The Christian Association of Nigeria has confirmed the wanton killings of Christians by jihadists, calling for international support.

Ms Mace is among several other American lawmakers decrying the violence against Christians in Nigeria.

Senator Ted Cruz proposed a ‘Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act’ that would target government officials facilitating the murder of Christians and the implementation of “blasphemy laws” with sanctions.

Jim Risch, who is the U.S. Senate foreign relations committee chairman, and Riley Moore have also condemned the “genocidal” killings of Christians in Nigeria.

In a letter addressed to the U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, Mr Moore, who represents West Virginia’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives, urged the U.S. government to designate Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’, citing “reports that corrupt cells of the Nigerian government may be complicit, and even directly involved, in some of these attacks”.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has condemned the allegations.

“Let me also say this clearly, Nigeria is a proud, sovereign nation built on the faith and resilience of its people. Here, no faith is under siege, no community is excluded,” stated the Nigerian president. “Our churches, mosques, and traditional shrines stand side by side—not as rivals, but as symbols of the unity that binds us.

“We must never allow outsiders to tell us who we are or sow division among us. We are Nigerians, and we will stand together. Nigeria will not accept lectures from those who seek to profit from our divisions. No one loves this country more than Nigerians themselves, and no one will define us except us.”