Tinubu govt to face two panels as US puts Nigeria on trial over alleged Christian persecution

The administration of President Bola Tinubu is set to face serious pressure as the United States prepares to put Nigeria on trial over the alleged killing of Christians.

The US House of Representatives has fixed Thursday, November 12, 2026, for a hearing on the matter, which will be held at 11 am at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., and it will be shown live on YouTube.

The hearing will be led by Chris Smith, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa.

Smith's office announced the hearing on Monday. It was titled 'One Year Later: Assessing Nigeria's Efforts to Protect Christians and Secure the Middle Belt'.

The lawmakers will check what Nigeria has done in the last year to protect Christians, secure the Middle Belt, and punish those behind religious attacks, including Boko Haram.

Two panels are expected to speak at the hearing.

The first panel will have Frank Garcia, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Riley Barnes, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour.

The second panel will have Nina Shea of the Hudson Institute, Ryan Brown, chief executive officer of Open Doors US, and Oge Onubogu of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

The lawmakers will also discuss what steps America can take to force Nigerian authorities to prevent violence against Christians and non-radical Muslim communities.

The hearing is coming almost exactly one year after President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.

Trump first put Nigeria on the list in 2020. Former President Joe Biden removed the country from the list when he took office.

But on October 31, 2025, Trump put Nigeria back on the list. He said Christianity was facing an existential threat in Nigeria and accused radical Islamist groups of killing thousands of Christians.

Trump also threatened to stop all US aid to Nigeria. He warned of possible military action if the Tinubu government failed to stop the killings.

"If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now-disgraced country, 'guns-a-blazing,' to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.

"I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians," Trump said on November 1, 2025.

Nigeria and the United States have since entered into a military partnership targeting terrorist groups operating in the northern region.

Tinubu govt to face two panels as US puts Nigeria on trial over alleged Christian persecution