By Stellamaris
The United States House of Representatives has fixed November 12, 2026, for a congressional hearing on alleged persecution of Christians and insecurity in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
Politics Nigeria reports that the hearing will be chaired by Chris Smith, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa. It will focus on the Nigerian government’s efforts to protect vulnerable communities, tackle religious violence and bring perpetrators to justice.
In a statement on Monday, Smith’s office said the hearing is titled “One Year Later: Assessing Nigeria’s Efforts to Protect Christians and Secure the Middle Belt.” It will review the steps the Nigerian government has taken against religious persecution and attacks by extremist groups, including Boko Haram.
Lawmakers will also look at what further steps the United States could take to make sure Nigerian authorities prevent violence against Christians and non-radical Muslim communities. Smith a Republican representative from New Jersey, is expected to chair his 14th congressional hearing on the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
The first panel will include 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 be made up of Nina Shea, senior fellow and director of the Centre for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute; Ryan Brown, chief executive officer of Open Doors US; and Oge Onubogu, director and senior fellow of the Africa Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
The hearing is reported to start at 11am at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC, and will be streamed live on YouTube. Other members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa are expected to take part.Smith is one of several US lawmakers who have raised allegations of Christian genocide in Nigeria.
In November 2025, the same subcommittee scheduled an investigation into President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, over alleged religious freedom violations and killings of Christians. Trump first designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern in 2020. His successor, former President Joe Biden, removed the country from the list after taking office.
On October 31, 2025, Trump redesignated Nigeria, citing alleged severe violations of religious freedom, particularly attacks on Christians. He claimed Christianity was facing an existential threat in Nigeria, alleging that thousands of Christians had been killed by radical Islamist groups. Trump also threatened to stop US aid and assistance to Nigeria. He warned of possible military intervention if the administration of President Bola Tinubu failed to address the killings.
On November 1, 2025, Trump said that if the Nigerian government kept allowing Christians to be killed, the US would immediately cut all aid and assistance to Nigeria. He added that the US might enter what he called the now-disgraced country “guns-a-blazing” to wipe out the Islamic terrorists behind the atrocities.
He said he had instructed the Department of War to prepare for possible action. He said any attack would be fast, vicious and sweet, just as the terrorists attack Christians. Meanwhile, Nigeria and the United States have since entered a military partnership targeting terrorist groups operating in the country’s vast northern region.
