A coalition of senior U.S. lawmakers has renewed warnings about a surge in religiously motivated attacks in Nigeria, insisting that the United States must intensify pressure on Abuja to halt what they described as the systematic targeting of Christian communities.
The joint congressional briefing, convened by House Appropriations Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), brought together members of the Appropriations and Foreign Affairs Committees alongside experts on global religious freedom.
The meeting followed President Donald Trump’s October 31 directive instructing Appropriators to investigate the widespread killing of Christians in Nigeria and present a comprehensive assessment.
Díaz-Balart opened the session with a blunt assertion: no individual should fear violence simply because of their religious identity.
He stressed that safeguarding religious liberty abroad aligns both with American values and national security interests.
According to him, the FY2026 funding bill already includes provisions addressing Nigeria’s crisis, but he argued that further action will require a full-year appropriations package.
Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), a longtime advocate for persecuted religious minorities, told the gathering that the situation in Nigeria has long passed the threshold of an emergency.
He called on Washington to stand “unwaveringly” with threatened Christian communities and ensure that the administration receives the facts needed to confront the devastation unfolding across Nigeria’s northern and central states.
Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV), known for his advocacy on religious liberty, lamented what he described as the “slaughter” of Christians.
He credited President Trump for placing Nigeria back on the U.S. list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC)—a designation reserved for nations accused of severe religious oppression.
Moore said the United States must ensure that the world “can no longer look away.”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL) delivered one of the starkest warnings of the briefing.
He rejected characterisations of Nigeria’s crisis as a mere dispute over resources, arguing that groups like Boko Haram, ISWAP, and radicalized Fulani militias are engaged in an orchestrated campaign to expel Christians from their ancestral territories.
According to Mast, religious minorities in the northern states face repressive systems, including the enforcement of blasphemy laws.
He urged the U.S. government to demand that Nigerian authorities disarm violent groups, restore displaced families, and prosecute attackers.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), who chairs the House Subcommittee on Africa, echoed these concerns, describing Nigeria as the “epicenter” of modern religious violence.
He accused the Nigerian government of failing in its constitutional duty to protect its citizens and warned that perpetrators of atrocities operate with near-total impunity.
Vicky Hartzler, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, presented a harrowing account of ongoing violence.
She noted several recent attacks, including the abduction of hundreds of schoolchildren and teachers from a Catholic school in Niger State on November 22, and the kidnapping of worshipers in a church in Kwara State days earlier.
She also highlighted deadly assaults on Muslims, particularly in mosques in Zamfara and Katsina, arguing that religious freedom violations in Nigeria now cut across communities.
Hartzler emphasised that although Christians remain the primary victims, violence of any kind must be tackled with urgency.
She urged Washington to work directly with Nigerian authorities to improve accountability, utilize U.S. security assistance more effectively, and invest in early-warning systems that can alert communities ahead of attacks—alerts that she said too often go unanswered.
Sean Nelson of Alliance Defending Freedom International recounted testimonies from victims he has represented.
His description included cases of Christians imprisoned under Sharia-based accusations, communities subjected to torture and kidnapping, and villages left burned and deserted after militant raids.
Nelson claimed that Nigerian authorities frequently dismiss the religious dimension of these attacks and chronically underfund security responses in the hardest-hit regions.
He also pointed out that several northern states still enforce severe blasphemy laws—some carrying the death penalty—creating what he called a climate of fear particularly for both Christians and minority Muslims.
Dr. Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations argued that jihadist militancy remains at the core of Nigeria’s instability.
He described Boko Haram as the country’s most existential threat and maintained that no durable solution is possible without dismantling the group’s operational capacity.
Obadare noted that President Tinubu’s government has recently announced tougher security measures, including a national security emergency, recruitment of additional police officers, and expanded airstrikes.
But he insisted that these steps came only after increased U.S. pressure.
He proposed that Washington urge Nigeria to take two contentious but necessary steps: declare Sharia law unconstitutional in the 12 northern states where it is practiced, and dismantle Hisbah religious policing units accused of enforcing Islamic codes on citizens regardless of their beliefs.
The House Appropriations Committee indicated that it is finalizing a detailed report for the White House outlining recommendations for how Congress can further assist the administration’s efforts to combat religious persecution globally, with Nigeria as a central focus.
The report is expected to guide the next phase of U.S. engagement in one of Africa’s most persistent and complex security crises.
