Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has applauded former United States President Donald Trump for designating Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) over persistent killings, human rights violations, and government failure to protect citizens.
Frank, in a statement released in Abuja on Saturday, described Trump’s decision as a “bold and long-overdue move” that exposes the Nigerian government’s complicity in widespread insecurity and corruption.
Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, announced that the United States had listed Nigeria as a country of particular concern, citing “widespread attacks on Christians” and the “existential threat facing Christianity” in the country.
“Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote. “I am hereby making Nigeria a COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN — but that is the least of it.”
Reacting, Frank said Trump’s action “speaks truth to power” and demonstrates greater concern for the lives of ordinary Nigerians than the country’s current leadership has shown.
“We commend President Trump for this courageous stand; it is long overdue,” Frank said. “By this action, Trump has shown he cares more about the welfare and safety of ordinary Nigerians than those elected to lead them.”
He said the U.S. designation was a direct result of the Nigerian government’s tolerance for impunity, its failure to prosecute perpetrators of mass killings, and the systemic corruption that fuels insecurity.
“The truth is that this administration is not interested in ending the killings,” Frank said. “Insecurity has become a business for some within the system. Corruption and impunity are the twin engines driving this crisis.”
Frank called on the U.S. government to impose targeted sanctions, including visa bans and asset freezes, on Nigerian officials complicit in human rights abuses and the looting of public funds, rather than measures that would further impoverish ordinary Nigerians.
“We appeal to the United States to ensure sanctions are directed strictly at those responsible for the atrocities, not at innocent citizens already suffering from government failure,” he said.
He accused the Nigerian authorities of protecting killers and negotiating with terrorists instead of prosecuting them, adding that “the government knows those behind the killings but chooses complicity over justice.”
Frank, who currently serves as the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, urged the international community to “move beyond rhetoric” and hold corrupt Nigerian officials accountable.
“The time for polite diplomacy is over. The world must stand with victims, not with those profiting from bloodshed,” he said. “President Trump’s action gives hope to millions of Nigerians who feel abandoned by their own leaders.”
Frank warned that failure to act decisively would worsen the humanitarian crisis and embolden those benefiting from insecurity.
“The recurring bloodshed is a direct reflection of governance failure,” he added. “Officials entrusted with protecting lives must be held accountable when they fail.”
He thanked Trump for his “moral courage” and urged other world leaders to emulate him in standing up for justice and human rights in Nigeria.
