Christian Genocide: One Year Later, Tinubu Govt Set to Face US Congress for Review on Security Effort

The United States House of Representatives will on Thursday, November 12, examine Nigeria’s efforts to tackle religious violence and protect vulnerable communities, placing the administration of President Bola Tinubu under renewed scrutiny.

The hearing, scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., will be chaired by Chris Smith, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa. Proceedings will also be streamed live on YouTube.

Smith’s office announced the session on Monday, with the title, ‘One Year Later: Assessing Nigeria’s Efforts to Protect Christians and Secure the Middle Belt’.

Lawmakers are expected to assess measures taken by the Nigerian government over the past year to safeguard Christian communities, address insecurity in the Middle Belt and bring perpetrators of religiously motivated attacks, including Boko Haram, to justice.

Two groups of witnesses will make presentations during the hearing. The first panel will feature 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 comprises 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.

Beyond examining Nigeria’s response, members of Congress will consider possible measures the US could take to pressure Nigerian authorities to curb attacks against Christians and non-radical Muslim communities.

The hearing comes nearly a year after US President Donald Trump restored Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), a classification used by Washington for countries accused of engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.

Nigeria was first placed on the list in 2020 during Trump’s first administration. However, former President Joe Biden removed the country from the designation after assuming office.

On October 31, 2025, Trump announced Nigeria’s return to the list, arguing that Christianity was facing an existential threat in the country. He also accused radical Islamist groups of killing thousands of Christians.

The US president subsequently threatened to withdraw American aid and assistance to Nigeria and raised the possibility of military intervention if the Tinubu administration failed to address the killings.

In a statement on November 1, 2025, Trump said:

“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.

Following the diplomatic tensions, Nigeria and the United States have established a military partnership focused on combating terrorist organisations operating in the northern part of the country.

The forthcoming congressional session is expected to provide lawmakers with an opportunity to evaluate the progress of Nigeria’s security response and consider further steps in Washington’s engagement with Nigeria.