THE United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa has scheduled Thursday, November 20, 2025, to open its inquiry into President Donald Trump’s recent decision to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over alleged surge in Christian killings.
According to Channels Television, the invitation sent to members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs shows that the hearing will be chaired by Representative Chris Smith at 11:00 a.m. in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building, with a live webcast available.
The hearing will include two panels of witnesses, featuring senior US State Department officials as well as Nigerian religious leaders.
“You are respectfully requested to attend an open hearing of the Committee on Foreign Affairs to be held by the Subcommittee on Africa at 11:00 a.m. in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building,” the invite read.
The ICIR reported that Trump added Nigeria to countries on watchlist for Christian genocide on October 31.
He referenced alleged grave violations of religious freedom, including the persecution of Christians.
He alleged that Christianity faced an existential threat in Nigeria, with thousands of Christians reportedly killed by radical Islamist groups.
Trump warned that the United States could take action including the possibility of military intervention if Nigeria failed to address the issue.
Nigeria was first designated a CPC by President Donald Trump in 2020, but his successor, President Joe Biden, removed the country from the list after taking office.
The US President also threatened to halt all aid and assistance to Nigeria should President Bola Tinubu’s administration fail to end the alleged persecution and killing of Christians.
Thursday’s hearing will feature two panels. The first includes Jonathan Pratt, Senior Bureau Official of the Bureau of African Affairs, and Jacob McGee, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
The second panel will comprise Nina Shea, Director of the Centre for Religious Freedom; Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of Nigeria’s Makurdi Catholic Diocese; and Oge Onubogu from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
According to the report, the congressional hearing is set to examine the extent of religious persecution in Nigeria, and to weigh potential policy responses, including targeted sanctions, humanitarian assistance, and collaboration with Nigerian authorities to prevent further violence.
The bill is also under consideration on in the United States Senate, where it is sponsored by one of the senators, Ted Cruz.
However, Tinubu said Nigeria stood firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty and continued to maintain open engagement with both Christian and Muslim leaders across the country.
He argued that the portrayal of Nigeria as religiously intolerant did not reflect the reality in the country, adding that the government’s efforts to safeguard freedom of belief for all Nigerians remained consistent and sincere.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.