The United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa has approved a move allowing President Donald Trump to impose strict sanctions on Nigeria in response to the widespread killing of Christians in the country.
The decision followed a congressional hearing on Wednesday, during which lawmakers condemned the Nigerian government for failing to protect Christian communities from escalating violence.
The subcommittee referenced a 2024 report by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, which stated that Nigerians account for 90 percent of all Christians killed worldwide each year. According to the report, between October 2019 and September 2023, 55,910 people were killed, while 21,000 others were abducted by terrorist groups in the region.
During the hearing, Committee Chairman Chris Smith highlighted the severity of the crisis, citing testimony from Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Diocese of Makurdi, Nigeria. Smith described the attacks by militant Fulani herdsmen as acts of terrorism and accused Nigerian authorities of granting them impunity.
“Militant Fulani herdsmen are terrorists. They steal and vandalize, they kill and boast about it, they kidnap and rape, and they enjoy total impunity from elected officials. None of them have been arrested or brought to justice,” Smith said.
The subcommittee’s report labeled the violence as “religious cleansing” and called for accountability. Lawmakers also criticized the Nigerian government for failing to uphold constitutional protections for religious freedom and accused it of using blasphemy laws to target Christian minorities.
“The Nigerian government has made little progress in addressing the persecution of Christians, even though religious freedom is enshrined as a fundamental human right in its Constitution,” the report stated.
Smith also blamed the administration of former President Joe Biden for removing Nigeria from the U.S. Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list, a designation originally placed during Trump’s first term. He noted that despite four consecutive years of recommendations from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (2021-2024), the Biden administration did not reinstate Nigeria’s CPC status.
“Under President Biden, Nigeria was removed from the CPC list, despite overwhelming evidence that religious persecution had worsened,” Smith said.
He urged President Trump to take immediate action, including reinstating Nigeria’s CPC status and engaging directly with President Bola Tinubu to ensure better protection for Christian communities.
“I fully expect President Trump to redesignate Nigeria as a CPC and take additional steps to support the persecuted church,” he added.
Smith also called on the Trump administration and the U.S. Senate to be prepared to impose sanctions on Nigeria if the violence persists.
“This hearing should serve as a catalyst for action—not just within Congress but also within the Executive Branch,” he said.
“The new president has a responsibility to act, and I believe he will. If necessary, sanctions must be imposed. When they have been used in the past, they have brought change. Where there are no consequences, the killing fields remain.”
