The US House of Representatives will hold a congressional hearing on Thursday to examine Nigeria’s response to violence against Christians and insecurity in the Middle Belt.
Republican Representative Chris Smith will lead the session, titled “One Year Later: Assessing Nigeria’s Efforts to Protect Christians and Secure the Middle Belt.” It is scheduled for 11am at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC.
According to a statement from Smith’s office, the hearing will assess religious violence by radical Islamist groups, including Boko Haram and Fulani militants, against Christian communities. It will also review the Nigerian government’s actions to curb the violence, punish those responsible, and protect both Christian and non-radical Muslim communities.
Lawmakers will consider steps the United States can take to press Nigerian officials on the issue.
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.
The hearing will be streamed live on YouTube. It will be Smith’s 14th congressional hearing focused exclusively on Nigeria. In November 2025, he chaired a similar session following President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern.” In May 2016, he also led a hearing on the US role in helping Nigeria confront Boko Haram and other threats in the north.
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