The United States Congress is set to hold a hearing on November 12 to scrutinize Nigeria’s security response to attacks on Christian communities and persistent insecurity in the Middle Belt. The session, titled “One Year Later: Assessing Nigeria’s Efforts to Protect Christians and Secure the Middle Belt,” will take place at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC, beginning at 11 a.m. local time, or 5 p.m. in Nigeria.
Chaired by Republican Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, the hearing is the 14th congressional session devoted to the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. Smith’s office stated that the proceedings will assess the state of religious violence attributed to extremist groups, including Boko Haram, and examine measures taken by Nigerian authorities to prevent attacks and ensure accountability. The inquiry will also consider violence against Muslim communities that reject extremist ideology and evaluate potential additional U.S. policy measures to protect vulnerable populations.
Two senior officials from the U.S. Department of State are scheduled to testify in the first panel: Frank Garcia, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Riley Barnes, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour. Their appearance aims to provide lawmakers with an assessment of Nigeria’s security situation and the implications for bilateral relations. A second panel will feature Nina Shea of the Hudson Institute, Ryan Brown of Open Doors US, and Oge Onubogu of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, who will offer perspectives on religious freedom and Nigeria’s broader security challenges.
The hearing comes amid heightened diplomatic attention following President Donald Trump’s 2025 decision to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over allegations of severe violations of religious freedom. Nigeria was previously designated a CPC in December 2020 but was removed from the list in November 2021 under former President Joe Biden. The renewed designation, which applies to countries engaging in or tolerating particularly severe violations of religious freedom, has intensified calls from American lawmakers for stronger protective measures.
Recent developments have further shaped the security landscape, including U.S. military strikes against Islamic State-linked targets in northwestern Nigeria on December 25, 2025. These actions were part of counterterrorism efforts following Trump’s warnings over attacks on Christians, leading to closer security cooperation between the two nations against terrorist groups operating in northern Nigeria.
Despite the international focus on religious violence, the Nigerian Federal Government has consistently rejected the characterization of its security challenges as exclusively a campaign of religious persecution against Christians. Authorities maintain that terrorism, banditry, farmer-herder conflicts, and communal disputes affect communities across religious and ethnic lines, with both Christians and Muslims among the victims. The government points to ongoing military operations against insurgents as evidence of its efforts to restore security, while acknowledging that violence persists in several parts of the country, particularly in the Middle Belt states of Plateau and Benue.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
