US Congress Begins Probe Into Alleged Christian Killings in Nigeria

The United States House Subcommittee on Africa is set to hold an open hearing on November 20, 2025, to review President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, a move that could trigger sanctions against Nigerian officials implicated in religious persecution.

The hearing, chaired by Representative Chris Smith, will feature senior US State Department officials and Nigerian religious leaders, with discussions focusing on the scope of religious persecution in Nigeria and potential US policy responses.

According to an invitation sent to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, key panelists include Jonathan Pratt of the Bureau of African Affairs, Jacob McGee of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Makurdi Catholic Diocese, among others

Trump’s designation follows rising reports of attacks on Christian communities across Nigeria, a situation he described as an existential threat marked by killings, kidnappings and the destruction of worship centres.

His remarks have sparked debates globally, especially after he warned that the US might halt aid to Nigeria or take further action if the alleged persecution continues.

“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 wipe out the Islamic terrorists committing these atrocities,” Trump said.

“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.”

President Bola Tinubu, however, dismissed Trump’s claims as a misrepresentation of Nigeria’s religious reality, insisting that the country remains firmly committed to constitutional guarantees of religious liberty and rejects any form of persecution.