U.S. Congress To Investigate Religious Violence In Nigeria

The U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa will hold a high-profile hearing on Thursday, November 20, 2025, to examine President Donald Trump’s decision to reclassify Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for alleged violations of religious freedom. The hearing comes amid growing international scrutiny of attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria.

At 11:00 a.m. in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building, the Subcommittee—chaired by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ)—will convene an open session, available via live webcast. The bipartisan hearing is expected to assess the gravity of the religious persecution in Nigeria and explore possible U.S. policy responses, including sanctions or targeted aid.

Senior U.S. officials and Nigerian faith leaders will testify. On the government side, panelists include Jonathan Pratt, a senior bureau official from the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, and Jacob McGee, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Representing civil society and religious organizations are Nina Shea, Director of the Centre for Religious Freedom; Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of Nigeria’s Makurdi Diocese; and Oge Onubogu from the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

The hearing follows Trump’s October 31 designation of Nigeria as a CPC, citing “severe violations of religious freedom,” particularly the systematic targeting of Christians. Trump has claimed that thousands of Christians are being killed by “radical Islamist” groups, and warned that the United States could suspend aid or even take military action if the Nigerian government fails to protect its Christian population.

“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance … and may very well go into that now-disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’” Trump declared on November 1, 2025. He added that he had instructed the U.S. “Department of War” to prepare for “possible action” to “wipe out the Islamic terrorists.”

President Bola Tinubu pushed back, rejecting Trump’s remarks as a “misrepresentation of Nigeria’s religious reality.” In a statement on his official social media account, he affirmed that “religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity,” adding that Nigeria remains committed to constitutional guarantees of religious liberty.

The U.S. Senate is also weighing a related measure, sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz, that could reinforce consequences for Nigerian officials implicated in religious persecution.

Bishop Anagbe, who is expected to testify, has previously highlighted the threat to Christian communities in Nigeria. At a March 2025 event in the U.K. Parliament, he described how militant Fulani herdsmen and Islamist extremists have attacked Christian villages in Benue State, burned churches, and forced people into internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.

“They follow orders to conquer, kill, and occupy,” he told British lawmakers. “They attack even those who have managed to escape into our IDP camps.”