United States President Donald Trump has designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) amid growing global demand for immediate action over killings of Christians in the West African nation.

“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed,” Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday. “Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a “COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN” — But that is the least of it.”

Mr Trump’s decision came weeks after persistent pressure from notable American politicians, including Senator Ted Cruz and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, calling on the Trump administration to designate Nigeria as a CPC nation.

In their appeal to the Trump administration, they argued that Nigeria has become the most dangerous place for Christians in the world, calling the attacks on churchgoers in the country ‘genocide’, a claim that the Christian Association of Nigeria also affirmed.

Mr Trump noted that Christians are being killed in Nigeria in the ratio of 3,100 to 4,476 compared to the rest of the world, adding that he has directed the U.S. House of Representatives House Appropriations Committee to carry out further investigations into the situation.

“When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done! I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter, and report back to me,” the American leader said.

He added that “the United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!.”

The designation will allow the United States to impose sanctions of the Nigerian government, politicians and individuals that may be deemed to have contributed to the killing of Christians in the country.