The United States Congress is preparing to hold a fresh hearing on Nigeria’s security crisis, with particular attention to attacks on Christians and other communities in the Middle Belt.
The hearing, scheduled for Thursday, November 12, 2026, will be organised by the Africa Subcommittee of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee and chaired by Republican Congressman Chris Smith.
Titled “One Year Later: Assessing Nigeria’s Efforts to Protect Christians and Secure the Middle Belt,” the session will examine the Nigerian government’s response to attacks, efforts to protect vulnerable communities and the prosecution of those responsible for violence.
According to the hearing notice published by the committee, lawmakers will also consider how the United States can encourage Nigerian authorities to strengthen security and protect Christians as well as non-radical Muslim communities.
The notice identifies violence involving extremist organisations, including Boko Haram, and groups it describes as Fulani terrorists, as part of the issues to be examined.
Five witnesses from the US government and civil society organisations are expected to appear before the lawmakers in two sessions.
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 will include 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.
Proceedings are scheduled to begin at 11 am Washington time at Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC. The committee has also listed the hearing as a scheduled event on its official website.
The session will add to the series of congressional discussions led by Smith on religious freedom and the security situation in Nigeria.
Washington’s scrutiny of Nigeria intensified after President Donald Trump designated the country a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) on October 31, 2025, under the International Religious Freedom Act.
The designation followed concerns raised by the US administration over religious freedom violations and the Nigerian government’s response to attacks on religious communities.
Nigeria had previously received the same designation in December 2020 during Trump’s first administration. The Biden administration subsequently removed the country from the list in November 2021.
The CPC classification is provided for under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and applies to countries found to have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.
However, the Nigerian government has repeatedly rejected descriptions of the country’s security crisis as a campaign of religious persecution, maintaining that violence affects people across religious communities.
Authorities have attributed the insecurity to several overlapping challenges, including terrorism, armed banditry, farmer-herder conflicts, kidnapping and organised criminal activities.
The government has also argued that both Christians and Muslims have suffered attacks, particularly in areas affected by insurgency and communal violence.
Meanwhile, Nigeria and the United States have continued security cooperation against extremist groups.
On December 25, 2025, the US military carried out airstrikes against Islamic State-linked targets in northwestern Nigeria. Trump said the operation targeted militants responsible for attacks against Christians.
The upcoming congressional hearing is expected to bring renewed attention to Washington’s assessment of Nigeria’s efforts to address insecurity and protect religious communities.
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