U.S. Senator Ted Cruz has criticized the administration of President Bola Tinubu, alleging that the Nigerian government is employing lobbying firms to downplay the ongoing killings of Christians in the country. Cruz expressed frustration that Nigeria hired a Washington-based public relations firm to influence U.S. perception regarding its efforts to protect religious minorities, labeling the move a distraction from the worsening security crisis.
Reports indicate that the Nigerian government entered a $9 million contract with the DCI Group last December, shortly after Nigeria was flagged as a country of particular concern under former President Donald Trump. Documentation submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice shows that the Kaduna-based firm Aster Legal secured these services on behalf of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu. Simultaneously, Timi Frank, a former official of the All Progressives Congress, accused the Tinubu administration of misleading the public by misrepresenting a letter from Donald Trump as an official endorsement of the current government.
Senator Cruz, who authored the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, argues that Nigerian officials maintain policies that enable violence against Christians, including the enforcement of blasphemy and Sharia laws. In response to these concerns, the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed an amendment that would withhold all financial aid to Nigeria until the nation demonstrates concrete progress in curbing domestic violence. Legislators like Chris Smith have supported this stance, arguing that the lobbying efforts by Nigerian officials demonstrate a persistent culture of denial regarding the country’s security failures.
