Genocide: Different strokes as US congress probes killings in Nigeria

By Henry Ojelu with agency report

In a sharply divided hearing on Thursday, members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa debated the increasingly fraught issue of Christian persecution in Nigeria. The session exposed deep fractures in Congress over whether the violence against Christians in Nigeria should be framed as religiously motivated genocide and what, if anything, the United States should do about it.

Genocide claims

At the centre of the hearing was Representative Chris Smith (R–NJ), Chairman of the Africa Subcommittee, who opened with this ominous words. “Nigeria is ground zero, the focal point of the most brutal and murderous anti-Christian persecution in the world today.” He called the hearing a very critical one.

Smith did not mince words, he cited attacks in which militants allegedly “kill and boast about it … kidnap and rape and enjoy total impunity from elected officials.”

He described one massacre in Yola, saying reports indicated “278 people, men, women and children were killed in a manner too gory to describe by people shouting ‘Allahu Akbar.’”

Backing him strongly was Rep. Riley Moore (R–WV), sponsor of H.Res. 866, a resolution condemning persecution of Christians in Nigeria and pledging support for aggressive U.S. action.

“Every day, innocent Christians in Nigeria are brutally attacked, displaced, and murdered simply for their faith in Jesus Christ,” Moore said. He added later, “This isn’t about politics, it’s about principle. Evil triumphs when good men do nothing.”

Several of Moore’s cosponsors also spoke out in support. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R–TX) expressed gratitude for Trump’s “bold and unwavering leadership in defense of Christians in Nigeria.”

Rep. Mary Miller (R–IL) called the killings “one of the greatest moral crises of our time.” Rep. Andrew Clyde (R–GA) said, “We cannot turn a blind eye to our brothers and sisters in Christ being slaughtered at the hands of radical Islamists.”

Rep. Andy Biggs (R–AZ) called the persecution “a moral outrage,” urging condemnation in the U.S. House. Rep. Van Drew (R–NJ) said, “No one should ever be killed for their faith … yet thousands of innocent Christians are being slaughtered simply because they believe in God.”

Caution from the Left

On the other side, Rep. Sara Jacobs (D–CA), the ranking member on the subcommittee, cautioned against simplistic narratives. She warned that violence in Nigeria is not just about religion:

“overlapping drivers — extremist insurgencies, farmer-herder conflict and organized banditry” are part of the picture.

Jacobs also denounced President Trump’s aggressive rhetoric. “Violence affects everyone. False narratives erase the real drivers of violence and make it harder to find solutions,” she said. She called suggestions of unilateral U.S. military action “reckless and illegal” — arguing they would be “counterproductive.”

Economic pressure, not guns

While many Republicans pressed for pressure, not all endorsed military intervention. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R–MI) criticized the Nigerian government’s response but made clear he did not support a sudden military strike.

“I don’t envision a surprise attack or a military response,” he said. Instead, he advocated for economic pressure and sanctions. “Sanctions really cut off the flow of money and travel.Economic pressure will have a positive impact,” he stated.

Huizenga added bluntly: “They need to demonstrate what they are doing to protect not just Christians but all citizens … Their response has been, ‘there’s really not a problem.’ Well, I think there is.”

Human rights voices, testimony

Religious and civil society experts also testified. Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, of the Makurdi Diocese in Nigeria, joined via video from Benue State. He painted a grim picture: church burnings, priests abducted, and mass displacement.

According to Bishop Anagbe, “Nigeria remains the deadliest place on earth to be a Christian … More believers are killed there annually than in the rest of the world combined.”

On the policy side, Jonathan Pratt, a U.S. State Department official, told lawmakers the U.S. is working to make protection of Christians “a top priority” in its bilateral engagement. His colleague, Jacob McGee, added: “The levels of violence and atrocities committed against Christians are appalling … Nigerians are being attacked and killed because of their faith.”

McGee also pointed to the role of blasphemy laws in twelve northern states, calling such laws “unacceptable in a free and democratic society.”

A Voice for Nigeria

In her presentation to the committee, Oge Onubogu, Senior Fellow and Director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS, urged lawmakers to resist framing Nigeria’s crisis through a narrow religious lens.

She acknowledged that Christians suffer acute and devastating violence in many parts of the country, but warned that the root causes are “far more complex than a singular campaign of persecution.”

According to her, Nigeria’s insecurity is layered — shaped by governance failures, climate-induced resource conflicts, impunity within the security sector, organised criminal networks, and long-standing communal grievances.

“If we diagnose the problem incorrectly,” she cautioned, “we risk designing solutions that inflame tensions rather than resolve them.”

She advised the committee that the most effective U.S. approach would focus on early-warning systems, strengthening local peacebuilding structures, supporting judicial accountability, and encouraging Nigerian authorities to confront impunity across all levels of governance.

Her remarks stood out as one of the most nuanced interventions of the hearing, pushing back against both minimisation and sensationalism, and calling for a pragmatic roadmap that centres Nigerian agency and long-term stability.

What Congress is proposing

Through H.Res. 866, Rep. Riley Moore and his colleagues are urging a range of U.S. policy actions; from diplomatic and economic pressure to possibly more direct measures.

The resolution demands that Nigeria protect Christian communities, prosecute those who commit violence, repeal blasphemy laws, and facilitate the return of displaced persons.

Moore’s framing is moral but also strategic: “The United States must stand for religious freedom everywhere. Silence in the face of this kind of persecution makes us complicit,” he said.

Broader implications

Thursday’s hearing underscored a tricky balancing act for U.S. policymakers. If the U.S. leans hard into punitive measures, sanctions, diplomatic isolation, or worse—there is a risk: Nigeria is a sovereign nation, and heavy-handed pressure could inflame nationalist backlash or worsen communal divisions.

Yet many on the right argue that moral responsibility demands more: backing from Congress, and from the White House, to defend Christian populations who are, they say, under sustained threat.

On the other side, more cautious voices warn of overselling the genocide narrative. They argue that persistent insecurity in Nigeria is deeply complex, rooted not only in religious extremism, but also in land disputes, ethnic politics, poverty, and state capacity failures. Without a nuanced approach, U.S. involvement risks doing more harm than good.

Turning point

Thursday’s hearing may well prove to be a turning point on Nigeria’s insecurity challenges. The bipartisan clash, the high moral stakes, and strong public statements by key lawmakers suggest that the U.S. is now seriously grappling with whether to escalate its involvement in Nigeria’s religious-security crisis.

If Congress backs Moore’s resolution and the CPC designation further holds, it could unlock a toolbox of U.S. leverage: targeted sanctions, aid conditionality, and renewed diplomatic pressure.

But whether that translates into meaningful protection for Christians on the ground in Nigeria remains an open question.

Back home here, a growing number of faith leaders, civil-society actors, and diplomats say they welcome international scrutiny, but insist that real change in Nigeria must come through strengthening local institutions, not foreign coercion.

Whether the United States can convert its rhetoric into action, without inflaming tensions further, could define the next chapter of its diplomacy with Africa’s most populous nation.

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