The United States Congress is divided over President Donald Trump’s claim that Christians in Nigeria face religious persecution, with conservatives calling for sanctions while Democrats denounced the threats as reckless at a hearing on Thursday.
At a public hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, lawmakers grappled with whether to back Trump’s recent decision to label the country a “state of particular concern” over religious freedom.
The US president has insisted that Christian communities in Africa’s most populous nation face widespread persecution – a claim that Nigerian officials have strongly rejected.
At Thursday's hearing, Chris Smith, a veteran Republican who chairs the Africa subcommittee, argued that Nigeria was “ground zero, the focal point of the most brutal and murderous anti-Christian persecution in the world today”.
He accused the Nigerian authorities of failing in their constitutional duty to protect citizens, insisting that armed groups act “with impunity” against Christians.
Echoing Trump's threat of possible military intervention, the congressman urged the State Department to “seriously consider supporting human-rights vetted Nigerian forces to defend and protect Nigerian Christians and moderate Muslims”.
Smith also called for targeted sanctions – such as travel bans and asset freezes – aimed at individuals and entities deemed responsible for attacks.
'Reckless' threats
But others say the situation in Nigeria is more complicated, with both Christians and Muslims caught up in violence.
Democratic Congresswoman Sara Jacobs argued that Trump’s threats were irresponsible and risked derailing cooperation with a key African partner.
“President Trump’s threat is reckless, and any unilateral military action in Nigeria is illegal,” she said, pointing out that Congress had not authorised the use of force in Nigeria to protect Christians.
Experts told the hearing that instability in Nigeria stems from longstanding failures of governance, complex grievances and agitation rather than just religious conflict.
“A narrow narrative that frames Nigeria’s security situation solely as the persecution of Christians oversimplifies the issue,” said Oge Onubogu, director of the Africa programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
“Religious and ethnic violence is driven more by governance failures and worsened by hate speech and conspiracy theories.”
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Contested 'genocide' claims
Researchers and Nigerian officials point out that much of the insecurity ravaging parts of the country is driven by criminality and competition over land and resources, especially in the North West region and Middle Belt.
Jihadist groups including Boko Haram are also known to victimise Muslims as well as Christians.
A high-level Nigerian delegation is in Washington this week to discuss the matter.
How Nigeria is reintegrating repentant former Boko Haram fighters
The designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) earlier in November followed months of lobbying by conservative politicians and Christian advocacy groups who claim that Christians in Nigeria are facing “genocide” – a term widely contested by researchers on the ground.
These organisations have amplified stories of attacks and displacement, urging the US government to step in.
The US government gives the CPC label to nations it says are engaged in severe violations of religious freedom. Trump previously designated Nigeria a CPC in December 2020 during his first term in office, but that decision was reversed the following year under President Joe Biden.
This article was adapted from the original in French.
