WorldStage– The United States Republican Chris Smith and Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee, will on Thursday, November 12th, chair his fourteenth congressional hearing on the religious persecution of Christians by radical Islamist groups in Nigeria.
The congressional hearing will also extend to the efforts by Nigerian government to mitigate the violence and protect vulnerable communities in the Middle Belt.
According to Smith, the Congressional hearing will assess the current state of religious violence perpetrated by radical Islamists, such as Boko Haram and Fulani terrorists, against Christians in Nigeria; the Nigerian government’s efforts to curb the persecution and punish those responsible for committing atrocities against Christian and non-radical Muslim communities; and the steps the United States can take to ensure that Nigerian officials are addressing and preventing the systemic violence against Christians and non-radical Muslims by Islamist extremists.
The first panel will feature Frank Garcia, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, and Riley Barnes, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labour.
The second panel will feature Nina Shea, senior fellow and director of the Centre for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute; Ryan Brown, chief executive officer of Open Doors US; and Oge Onubogu, director and senior fellow of the Africa Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
The hearing will begin at 11am at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC, and will also be streamed live on YouTube.
Other members of the house foreign affairs Africa sub-committee are expected to participate.
Smith has been one of several US lawmakers pushing allegations of Christian genocide in Nigeria.
In 2025, US President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria a country of particular concern (CPC) over Christian genocide claims, before following up with a missile strike on Nigerian territory on Christmas Day.
Nigeria and the United States have since entered a military partnership targeting terrorists in the country’s arid and vast northern region.
