By Obinna Uballa
The Nigerian government’s push to counter the Christian-genocide narrative promoted by the Donald Trump administration appears to be gaining little traction, as United States lawmakers have forcefully rejected Abuja’s position on alleged targeted killings of Christians during a rare joint congressional briefing on ‘escalating religious violence in Nigeria.’
The session, convened on Tuesday by senior members of the House Appropriations and Foreign Affairs Committees, is part of a wider probe ordered by President Donald Trump into what legislators and experts describe as escalating, systematic attacks on Christian communities across Nigeria.
Led by House Appropriations Vice Chair and National Security Subcommittee Chairman Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.), the briefing will feed into a comprehensive report for the White House on recent massacres of Nigerian Christians and potential US policy responses. President Trump instructed Reps. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) and Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) to spearhead the investigation, and has publicly suggested the US could consider direct military action against Islamist groups responsible for killings.
Vicky Hartzler, Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, warned lawmakers that religious freedom in Nigeria is “under siege.” She cited the abduction of more than 300 schoolchildren and repeated assaults in which “radical Muslims kill entire Christian villages and burn churches.” Hartzler argued that attacks disproportionately target Christians “at a 2.2 to 1 rate” compared with Muslims.
While acknowledging some recent measures by Abuja,including the redeployment of roughly 100,000 police officers from VIP protection to regular policing, she cautioned that Nigeria is entering “a coordinated and deeply troubling period of escalated violence.” She recommended targeted sanctions against Nigerian officials “demonstrating complicity,” visa restrictions, asset freezes, and conditioning US aid on measurable accountability.
Dr. Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations directly challenged Nigeria’s long-standing claim that the violence is not religiously motivated. He described the narrative that militants target Christians and Muslims equally as “a myth,” insisting groups like Boko Haram operate for “one reason and one reason only: religion.” He said geographic factors, not equal targeting, explain any higher Muslim casualty figures.
Obadare criticised the Nigerian security apparatus as “too corrupt and incompetent” to dismantle jihadist networks without external pressure and urged Washington to push Nigeria to dismantle armed groups enforcing Islamic law, root out corruption within security forces, and act swiftly on early-warning intelligence.
Sean Nelson of Alliance Defending Freedom International labelled Nigeria “the deadliest country in the world for Christians,” saying more Christians are killed there than in all other countries combined, at rates “five times higher” than Muslims when adjusted for population. He added that extremists also target Muslims who refuse to accept their ideology, undermining the Nigerian government’s argument that violence is mainly criminal or communal.
Nelson called for stricter US oversight of assistance to Nigeria, including routing some aid through faith-based organisations to curb corruption. He urged Abuja to increase transparency around mass kidnappings and ransom payments.
Díaz-Balart criticised the Biden administration’s 2021 reversal of Nigeria’s designation as a “country of particular concern,” arguing the decision had “clearly deadly consequences.”
Lawmakers from the Appropriations, Foreign Affairs and Financial Services Committees signalled that more oversight actions are expected as they prepare the Trump-directed report for Congress.
Despite the criticisms, Hartzler noted that recent moves by the Tinubu administration – including the redeployment of police officers – may signal an emerging willingness to confront the crisis more decisively. She described the change as “a promising start after years of neglect,” adding that it reflects growing recognition among Nigeria’s leaders that religious violence has reached an intolerable level.
