The debate over Nigeria’s return to the US list of worst offenders on religious freedom triggered sharp divisions in Congress on Thursday, with lawmakers split between framing the crisis as a ‘Christian genocide’ and warning against a dangerous oversimplification of the country’s complex violence.
President Donald Trump, a few weeks ago, redesignated Nigeria as Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and threatened military action in Africa’s most populous nation over alleged Christian genocide.
The lawmakers’ debate came as US Congressman Riley Moore, one of the leading voices pushing the genocide narrative, met with the Nigerian delegation led by Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser, in Washington on Wednesday.
The BusinessDay reports that Moore described the engagement as a ‘frank, honest, and productive discussion’ on alleged persecution of Christians and persistent terrorist threats. Nigerian officials, he said, raised concerns about security assistance, counterterrorism operations, and protection of vulnerable communities.
Nigeria was first designated a CPC in 2020 during Trump’s first term, a label reserved for the world’s worst violators of religious freedom.
However, former President Joe Biden lifted the designation months later, a move that drew criticism from conservative lawmakers and some religious freedom advocates.
Data from ACLED, a global conflict-tracking organisation, reveals that Nigeria recorded nearly 12,000 attacks on civilians between January 2020 and September 2025, resulting in over 20,000 deaths across religious lines.
Only five percent of these incidents were classified as explicitly religiously motivated, and among those killed, 417 were Muslims and 317 were Christians.
During the congressional hearing, Rep. Sara Jacobs cautioned that oversimplifying Nigeria’s complex security crisis into a purely religious conflict risked fuelling further violence.
“There is very real conflict and violence that we need to address… The violence impacting both Christian and Muslim communities is real,” she said, recalling her experience working on U.S. counter-Boko Haram strategy since 2013.
Jacobs referenced recent incidents affecting both faiths. “The victims in the Kebbi State kidnapping were all Muslim girls. So, violence affects everyone. And false narratives perpetuate harmful stereotypes,” she said.
She also condemned former President Trump’s threat to militarily intervene in Nigeria: “President Trump’s threat is reckless. Any unilateral military action in Nigeria would be illegal.”
However, Jacob McGee, deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, defended the CPC redesignation, insisting that atrocities against Christians, particularly in the Middle Belt, are faith-driven.
“These attacks directly target Christian populations. Witness testimonies confirmed attackers used religious language and specifically targeted Christians for killing, abduction, and rape,” McGee said.
He criticised Nigeria’s handling of blasphemy cases, describing slow judicial processes and mob violence as evidence of systemic religious freedom violations.
Referencing the 2022 murder of Deborah Samuel, he added: “This young Christian woman’s life was taken too soon, yet her murderers remain free.”
US Representative Pramila Jayapal pushed back strongly against what she called a one-sided narrative.
“The killings in Nigeria aren’t just the persecution of Christians. It is the persecution of multiple groups. We should be careful not to portray it as just prosecution of Christians; that would be simplistic,” she said.
Huizenga emotional: Tinubu’s government not doing enough
Congressman Bill Huizenga, a co-sponsor of the resolution backing CPC redesignation, offered an emotional intervention, accusing the Nigerian government of inertia.
Fighting back tears, he said: “Tinubu’s government is sitting back, not doing enough.”
Huizenga reiterated his belief that Christian communities remain disproportionately targeted and insisted that Washington must act.
While giving his testimony at the US Congress on Thursday, Catholic Bishop of Makurdi Diocese, Wilfred Anagbe, urged President Donald Trump to back the re-designation of Nigeria as CPC with concrete action.
“On behalf of millions of Christians in Nigeria and in the diaspora, we want to thank President Donald Trump for his bold leadership in designating Nigeria as a CPC. I commend you and this subcommittee for ongoing efforts on this matter.
“It is a vital step, but must be backed by serious action. One, use the Magnitsky Act for targeted sanctions against Nigerian government officials and others tolerating or condoning Islamic violence in the country,” Anagbe said.
Meanwhile, Oge Onubogu, senior fellow and director, Africa Program, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), warned the US against military action in Nigeria, saying that it could endanger Christians it aims to protect.
“If the Trump administration proceeds with unilateral military action in Nigeria, it could endanger the Christians it aims to protect and worsen divisions along religious lines,” Onubogu said at the US Congress on Thursday.
“A narrow narrative that reduces Nigeria’s security situation to a single story and frames it solely as the persecution of Christians, oversimplifies the situation,” she added.
The Nigerian government has repeatedly rejected claims of religious persecution, arguing that the conflict is driven by criminality, resource struggles, and opportunistic armed groups.
But the US resolution, now gaining momentum in Washington, places new diplomatic pressure on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to show measurable progress in curbing attacks and protecting vulnerable communities.
Analysts further caution that growing US criticism may jeopardise the Tinubu administration’s broad economic reforms, initiated in 2023 and now beginning to yield visible gains.