U.S. lawmakers have sharply contradicted the Nigerian government’s stance on ongoing massacres in the country, describing the violence as “escalating,” “targeted,” and overwhelmingly directed at Christians. The remarks came during a rare joint congressional briefing on Wednesday.
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The closed-door session, convened by House Appropriations Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart as part of a Trump-ordered investigation, examined recent killings and what Congress described as Abuja’s “deeply inadequate” response. President Trump tasked lawmakers, led by Reps. Riley Moore and Tom Cole, with compiling a report on the persecution of Nigerian Christians, even suggesting possible U.S. military action against Islamist groups responsible for the attacks.
At the briefing, Vicky Hartzler, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, warned that “religious freedom [is] under siege” in Nigeria. She cited mass abductions of schoolchildren and assaults in which “radical Muslims kill entire Christian villages [and] burn churches.” According to Hartzler, Christians are targeted at more than double the rate of Muslims.
While acknowledging Nigeria’s recent reassignment of 100,000 police officers from VIP protection duties, Hartzler said the country is entering a “coordinated and deeply troubling period of escalated violence.” She urged targeted sanctions, visa bans, asset freezes, and stricter conditions on U.S. aid, stressing that Abuja must retake villages seized from Christian communities so displaced widows and children can return home.
Dr. Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations dismissed the Nigerian government’s claim that killings are not religiously motivated. He argued that extremist groups attack “for one reason and one reason only: religion,” with higher Muslim casualties reflecting geography rather than equal targeting. Obadare also accused the Nigerian military of being “too corrupt and incompetent” to defeat jihadist networks without external pressure, urging Washington to push for the disbandment of armed religious militias and prompt action on early warnings.
Sean Nelson of ADF International described Nigeria as “the deadliest country in the world for Christians,” noting that more Christians are killed there than in all other countries combined, at a rate five times higher than Muslims when adjusted for population. He recommended that U.S. aid be routed through faith-based organizations to ensure transparency and prevent corruption, warning that “without outside pressure, nothing changes.”
Díaz-Balart criticized the Biden administration’s reversal of Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” in 2021, arguing that the decision had “clearly deadly consequences.” Lawmakers from the Appropriations, Foreign Affairs, and Financial Services committees signaled plans for further oversight as they prepare the Trump-directed report.
Hartzler welcomed recent statements by Nigeria’s Speaker of the House acknowledging “a coordinated and deeply troubling period of escalated violence” and described the redeployment of police officers as “a promising start after years of neglect.” She, however, stressed that these actions remain insufficient without genuine transparency and swift government intervention.
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