US Lawmakers Clash With Abuja Over Alleged Targeted Killings of Christians in Nigeria

United States lawmakers opened an unusual joint briefing in Washington as part of an ongoing congressional investigation into what they describe as rising, targeted attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria. Senior members of the House Appropriations and Foreign Affairs committees gathered to hear testimonies from experts who argue that the situation amounts to a worsening pattern of religiously motivated violence.

The briefing was led by Mario Díaz-Balart, vice chair of the Appropriations Committee and head of its National Security panel. The session forms part of a wider report ordered by President Donald Trump on recent massacres of Christians in Nigeria and possible measures to pressure Abuja into a more forceful response. The investigation is spearheaded by Reps. Riley Moore and Appropriations Chair Tom Cole. Trump has also signalled that he is open to considering direct military action against Islamist groups responsible for the killings.

Vicky Hartzler, who chairs the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, told lawmakers that religious liberty in Nigeria is “under siege.” She highlighted the mass abduction of schoolchildren and attacks in which entire Christian communities are wiped out and churches destroyed. Hartzler said violations were widespread and disproportionately affected Christians, noting they were targeted at more than twice the rate of Muslims. She acknowledged that Nigeria had begun reassigning tens of thousands of police officers from VIP duty but warned that the country was entering a new and “deeply troubling” phase of coordinated violence.

Hartzler urged Congress to consider targeted sanctions against officials accused of complicity, expand visa bans, block assets held in the United States and condition future aid on measurable accountability. She also recommended a Government Accountability Office review of past U.S. assistance and called on Abuja to reclaim villages taken from Christian farming communities.

In one of the most forceful testimonies of the day, Dr. Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations rejected the Nigerian government’s claims that attacks are not religiously driven. He said the narrative that militant groups target Muslims and Christians equally was a “myth,” insisting the violence is fundamentally religious in nature. Any higher number of Muslim casualties, he argued, stems from geography rather than equal targeting. He described Boko Haram as an enemy of democracy and said Nigeria’s military lacked the capacity and integrity to dismantle extremist networks without significant outside pressure. Obadare urged the United States to push Nigeria to halt the activities of groups enforcing Islamic law, confront corruption within security agencies and act swiftly on intelligence warnings.

Sean Nelson of Alliance Defending Freedom International described Nigeria as “the deadliest country in the world for Christians,” claiming more Christians are killed there than in the rest of the world combined. He argued that extremists also target Muslims who refuse to accept their ideology, undermining the government’s assertion that the crisis is rooted mainly in banditry and local disputes. Nelson called for stricter oversight of U.S. assistance, including channeling some aid through faith-based groups to avoid corruption. He also pressed for greater transparency in Nigeria’s handling of mass kidnappings and ransom payments.

Díaz-Balart criticised the Biden administration for overturning Trump’s earlier decision to classify Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” saying the reversal had led to “clearly deadly consequences.” Lawmakers signalled that additional oversight steps are expected as they prepare the final report for the White House.

Despite the grim assessments, Hartzler noted recent moves by Nigerian authorities that could indicate a shift in approach. She cited President Bola Tinubu’s decision to reassign roughly 100,000 police officers to general duty as a positive step after years of inaction. She said remarks by Nigeria’s House speaker acknowledging a “coordinated” surge in violence, along with growing calls within the legislature for stronger oversight, suggested some recognition of the crisis. But she warned that these developments remain insufficient and stressed the need for clear commitments to justice, rapid responses to early warning signs and full transparency.

The Nigerian Embassy did not respond to inquiries on the matter.