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The United States Congress has scheduled a fresh hearing for tomorrow to scrutinise Nigeria’s response to attacks on Christian communities and persistent insecurity in the Middle Belt, amid growing concerns over the protection of vulnerable populations and the prosecution of perpetrators of religiously motivated violence.
The hearing, to be chaired by Republican Congressman Chris Smith, will examine the Nigerian government’s efforts to protect threatened communities, address recurring killings and displacement, and ensure accountability for attacks that have continued to attract international attention.
Titled One Year Later: Assessing Nigeria’s Efforts to Protect Christians and Secure the Middle Belt, the proceedings will take place on November 12 at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC, beginning at 11 a.m. local time, equivalent to 5 p.m. in Nigeria.
The hearing is expected to provide an opportunity for American lawmakers to assess the effectiveness of Nigeria’s security response and consider whether additional United States policy measures are necessary to address the violence.
The session, convened by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, will be chaired by Chris Smith, a Republican representing New Jersey, who has repeatedly raised concerns about attacks on Christians in Nigeria and pressed for stronger action by the American government.
In a statement issued by his office on Monday, Smith said the hearing would assess the state of religious violence attributed to extremist groups, including Boko Haram, and examine measures taken by Nigerian authorities to prevent attacks and bring those responsible to justice.
The congressional inquiry will also consider violence against Muslim communities that reject extremist ideology, as well as steps Washington could take to encourage greater protection of vulnerable populations.
Smith’s office described the forthcoming proceedings as his 14th congressional hearing devoted to the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, underscoring the sustained attention the issue has received from American lawmakers. Two senior officials of the United States Department of State are scheduled to testify before the lawmakers in the first panel.
They are Frank Garcia, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Riley Barnes, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour.
Their appearance is expected to provide lawmakers with an opportunity to examine Washington’s assessment of Nigeria’s security situation, the government’s efforts to address religious violence and the implications for bilateral relations.
A second panel will feature Nina Shea, Senior Fellow and Director of the Centre for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute; Ryan Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Open Doors US; and Oge Onubogu, Director and Senior Fellow of the Africa Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
The three witnesses are expected to contribute perspectives on religious freedom, the protection of vulnerable communities and Nigeria’s broader security challenges.
The hearing comes amid renewed scrutiny of Nigeria’s human rights and security record following the decision by United States President Donald Trump in 2025 to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over allegations of severe violations of religious freedom.
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Nigeria was first designated a CPC in December 2020 during Trump’s first administration but was removed from the list in November 2021 under former President Joe Biden.
The designation, provided for under the United States International Religious Freedom Act, applies to countries considered to have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.
The renewed designation in 2025 heightened diplomatic attention on Nigeria, with American lawmakers demanding stronger measures to protect Christian communities and ensure accountability for attacks.
On December 25, 2025, the United States also carried out military strikes against Islamic State-linked targets in northwestern Nigeria as part of counterterrorism efforts, following Trump’s repeated warnings over attacks on Christians.
The two countries have since pursued closer security cooperation against terrorist groups operating in parts of northern Nigeria.
However, the Federal Government has consistently rejected the characterisation of Nigeria’s security challenges as exclusively or primarily a campaign of religious persecution against Christians.
Nigerian authorities have maintained that terrorism, banditry, farmer-herder conflicts, communal disputes and other forms of criminal violence have affected communities across religious and ethnic lines, with both Christians and Muslims among the victims.
The government has also pointed to military operations against insurgents and other armed groups as evidence of its efforts to restore security, while acknowledging the persistence of violence in several parts of the country.
The Middle Belt, particularly Plateau and Benue states, has experienced repeated attacks, killings and displacement, with disputes over land, farming and grazing, communal tensions and the activities of armed groups contributing to the security crisis.
The forthcoming hearing will therefore place renewed attention on the effectiveness of Nigeria’s security operations, the protection of threatened communities and the prosecution of those responsible for attacks.
It will also provide an opportunity for American lawmakers to consider whether existing diplomatic and security cooperation arrangements are sufficient or whether additional measures should be recommended.
The proceedings are scheduled to be streamed live, with members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa expected to participate alongside the invited witnesses.
The hearing itself will not constitute a judicial determination of allegations of religious persecution, but its findings and recommendations could influence subsequent congressional scrutiny and United States policy discussions concerning Nigeria.
