WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has opened the door for sanctions to be imposed on Nigeria for allegedly failing to rein in the persecution of Christians in the West African country.

Trump announced Friday that he would designate Nigeria “a country of particular concern” as it relates to religious freedom, a move that had been pushed by some U.S. lawmakers.

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The designation does not necessarily mean that sanctions, which could include a ban on all non-humanitarian aid, will be imposed but is one step ahead of that.

“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria,” Trump said in a social media post. “Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN.’”

The Nigerian government veheme

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