US Congress launches sweeping investigation into Nigeria’s alleged Christian genocide

The United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa will convene a public hearing on Thursday, November 20, 2025, to review President Donald Trump’s recent move to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.

If upheld by the Senate, the CPC label would open the door for Washington to impose sanctions on Nigerian officials implicated in religious repression and place limits on certain categories of US–Nigeria cooperation, Punch reports.

The session, set for 11:00 a.m. in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building and streamed online, will be led by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ). Two witness panels — featuring senior State Department officials and Nigerian faith leaders — are expected to provide testimony.

An invitation circulated to members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs read, “You are respectfully requested to attend an open hearing of the Committee on Foreign Affairs to be held by the Subcommittee on Africa at 11:00 a.m. in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building.”

Confirmed panellists include Jonathan Pratt, Senior Bureau Official for African Affairs, and Jacob McGee, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

The second panel will include Nina Shea of the Centre for Religious Freedom; Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Makurdi Catholic Diocese; and Oge Onubogu of the Centre for Strategic & International Studies.

Lawmakers are expected to assess patterns of religious persecution in Nigeria and weigh potential US responses — from humanitarian support to punitive sanctions and deeper engagement with Abuja to curb spiralling violence.

President Trump had on October 31, 2025, redesignated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” triggering widespread debate over rising attacks on Christian communities. He attributed the decision to what he described as grave violations of religious liberty and the mass killing of Christians by extremist groups.

He warned that the United States would respond decisively, including the possibility of military action, if Nigeria failed to stop the alleged atrocities.

“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,” he said on November 1, 2025.

President Bola Tinubu rejected the claims, saying they misrepresented Nigeria’s religious environment.

‘’Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty. The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality.

“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it,” the President said.

Trump’s action comes amid repeated attacks on Christian settlements, including killings, kidnappings, and the destruction of worship centres. The CPC redesignation is also before the US Senate, championed by Senator Ted Cruz.

Nigeria was first placed on the CPC list in 2020 under Trump, before President Joe Biden removed it after taking office.

Bishop Anagbe — slated to testify before Congress — had earlier raised alarm during a March 25, 2025, address at the UK Parliament, where he detailed widespread violence against Christians, the torching of villages and mass displacement in Benue State.

He said Islamist extremists and armed Fulani groups had devastated entire communities, forcing many into internally displaced persons camps.

“The militant Fulani herdsmen bear down on defenceless villagers without consequence.

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

Congressman tackles Tinubu

Riley Moore (R-WV), in a Fox News interview, said, “We’ve already started that investigation… we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

He argued that Christian deaths in Nigeria far outnumber those of other religious groups, claiming a ratio of “five to one.”

Responding to Tinubu’s rebuttal, he said, “Unfortunately, that is completely false… there is a serious persecution happening in Nigeria.”

On whether America should intervene, Moore insisted the US had a moral obligation, adding that the CPC designation empowers the President to deploy sanctions, block development funds, and consider “military kinetic action.”

Pope laments violence

Pope Leo XIV expressed dismay over attacks targeting Christians in Nigeria and other countries, weeks after Trump’s threat of military intervention.

“In various parts of the world, Christians suffer discrimination and persecution. I think especially of Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sudan, and other countries from which we frequently hear of attacks on communities and places of worship,” he wrote on X.

He prayed for victims of recent massacres in the Democratic Republic of Congo and urged an end to violence.

US congressman’s defence

Congressman Bill Huizenga, speaking on Arise TV, said a US military strike was unlikely despite Trump’s combative rhetoric.

“I suspect that that is not a high priority… I don’t envision a surprise attack,” he said, noting that Trump was more focused on halting the killings.

He added that financial sanctions could play a significant role. “If we put economic pressure on them… that will have an impact,” he said, urging Nigerian authorities to intensify efforts against insecurity.

FG peace emissaries

As tensions heightened, President Tinubu sent Dr Abiodun Essiet, his Senior Special Assistant on Community Engagement (North Central), to Plateau State to strengthen peace efforts.

She met Christian leaders, Miyetti Allah representatives, and other stakeholders, and also visited Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo of the Regional Church Council in Barkin Ladi.

Essiet held a closed-door meeting with Irigwe community leaders, Miyetti Allah members, and the Bassa Youth Council. She emphasised Tinubu’s commitment to unity, dialogue, and inclusive governance.

During the visit, a long-running dispute between farmer David Toma and local herdsmen was resolved after the Miyetti Allah chairman of Bassa LG, Alhaji Isah Yau, paid N500,000 compensation for damage to Toma’s farm, leading to the release of two seized cows.

“All parties signed an undertaking to embrace peace in the state,” the presidency noted.

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