US Congress Sets Thursday Hearing on Alleged Persecution of Nigerian Christians

The United States Congress will on Thursday hold a hearing on allegations of widespread persecution of Christians in Nigeria, following former President Donald Trump’s recent decision to re-designate the country as one of “particular concern” (CPC).

The session, scheduled by the House Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Africa, will be chaired by Rep. Chris Smith, a long-standing advocate of the claims of religious persecution in Nigeria.

Smith, who has sponsored several resolutions on the matter, had earlier pushed for the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore to be listed as entities of concern. His proposal also recommended visa restrictions and asset freezes on identified members of the organisations.

He further urged the US to classify what he described as “Fulani-Ethnic Militias” operating in parts of Benue and Plateau states as entities of particular concern under America’s International Religious Freedom Act.

According to a statement from Smith’s office, the hearing will review allegations of “ongoing religious persecution of Christians by radical Islamists”, examine the implications of Nigeria’s re-designation as a CPC, and determine the appropriate response expected from the US State Department. The committee will also probe what Smith called the Nigerian government’s “complicity” in the attacks.

Expected to testify on the first panel are Jonathan Pratt, Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of African Affairs, and Jacob McGee, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour.

A second panel will feature contributions from Nina Shea, Senior Fellow and Director at the Centre for Religious Freedom; Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Makurdi Diocese; and Oge Onubogu, Director and Senior Fellow at the Africa Programme of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.