Already, some written testimonies have been submitted ahead of the joint hearing of the US Congress Foreign Affairs Committee, scheduled to hold on Wednesday, which identified Nigeria as a major flashpoint in an escalating global crisis of religious freedom.
The United States Congress panels are set for a fresh debate on Nigeria’s growing insecurity and alleged repeated attacks on religious communities.
Already, some written testimonies have been submitted ahead of the joint hearing of the US Congress Foreign Affairs Committee, scheduled to hold on Wednesday, which identified Nigeria as a major flashpoint in an escalating global crisis of religious freedom.
Witnesses cited recurring killings, displacement and insecurity as indicators of an emerging broader religious conflict in the country.
The hearing, titled ‘Defending Religious Freedom Around the World’, is being jointly convened by the House Subcommittee on Africa and the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere to assess what US lawmakers described as mounting threats to religious freedom worldwide.
Written testimonies by key witnesses were released on the committee’s website ahead of the session and are expected to be delivered when proceedings begin.
Those scheduled to testify include former US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback; Principal Advisor for Global Religious Freedom at the US State Department Mark Walker; Grace Drexel, daughter of detained Chinese pastor Ezra Jin; and Dr Stephen Schneck, former chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
In his prepared testimony, Brownback said, “Radical, militant Islam continues its purification efforts throughout the MENA region and beyond.” He added, “Syria and Nigeria are key focus areas of opportunity for them in their quest for dominance, excluding all other faiths, even others within Islam.”
Brownback further stated, “The people of faith being targeted by this persecution are America’s greatest allies in the spread of freedom around the world. We should see and treat them as such.” He identified religious freedom as a central fault line in global politics, warning that authoritarian and totalitarian regimes increasingly view faith communities as threats to state control.
“Religious freedom is now one of our primary weapons against the dark alliance gathered against us,” Brownback said, singling out Nigeria as a major global flashpoint and describing it as “the deadliest place on the planet to be a Christian.”
He warned that violence patterns across the country suggest a deepening religious crisis with implications beyond Nigeria’s borders. “Early warning signs of a Muslim-on-Christian war are brewing across Africa,” he wrote, adding that Nigeria sits at the centre of that danger.
The former envoy also raised concerns about foreign involvement in Nigeria’s security landscape, stating that support from countries such as “China, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia” could worsen instability if not carefully scrutinised. He cautioned that failure to act decisively could allow the violence to escalate into mass atrocities similar to those seen in Iraq.
In his own prepared testimony, Schneck described freedom of religion or belief as being in a “historic crisis” worldwide, driven by rising authoritarianism, religious nationalism and state failure. “Freedom of religion or belief is in crisis in the contemporary world.
Whether measured structurally in culture, institutions and laws, or in the sheer number of incidents, persecution is increasing across the globe,” he wrote in his private capacity and not on behalf of the commission.
Schneck identified Nigeria, Syria and Sudan as countries where weak governance and widespread insecurity have created dangerous conditions for religious communities.
“Nigeria, Syria, and Sudan are current examples of such conditions threatening freedom of religion or belief,” he said, noting that “their respective governments have been unable to halt widespread violence against communities of faith.”
He added, “Both have what were previously designated as Entities of Particular Concern operating within their borders,” warning that such environments allow armed groups, insurgents and criminal networks to exploit religious identity, leading to killings, displacement and long-term instability.
The former USIRF chair also criticised the US government’s performance under the International Religious Freedom Act, arguing that Washington has failed to match rhetoric with sustained action. “If we are to take the International Religious Freedom Act as our measure, then the United States is not doing enough,” he said. “We have been long on rhetoric and short on substance, consistency and effectiveness.”
Schneck expressed concern over delays in the release of the US State Department’s International Religious Freedom reports and the absence of updated designations of Countries of Particular Concern.
“Apparently, Nigeria, thanks to its unique designation by President Trump, is the only country in the world currently designated as a Country of Particular Concern and there are no designated Special Watch List countries or Entities of Particular Concern. This is very concerning at a time when countries like China and Iran are engaged in ever more repressive actions against people of faith,” he noted.
He warned against narrowing advocacy to the persecution of Christians alone, stressing that “International religious freedom, as defined in human rights law, is universal,” adding that “Selective advocacy undermines both effectiveness and legitimacy.”
Schneck further said, “The administration has relied on high-profile events (such as a one-off Tomahawk strike on Nigeria) and social media declarations rather than sustained, country-specific strategies,” noting that addressing violations “requires long-term engagement, multilateral coordination, and careful diplomacy.”
Last year, US President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over alleged religious freedom violations, a move accompanied by threats of possible US military intervention. The US government later attacked terrorist hideouts in Sokoto on Christmas Day.
However, Nigeria’s Federal Government dismissed claims of systemic Christian persecution, maintaining that insecurity affects citizens of all religious backgrounds. On November 20, 2025, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth hosted National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu at the Pentagon for discussions on coordinated strategies to address the crisis.
In December, Ribadu announced that he had hosted a US congressional delegation in Abuja as part of ongoing security consultations.
According to the NSA, discussions focused on “counter-terrorism cooperation, regional stability,” and ways to “strengthen the strategic security partnership between Nigeria and the United States.”
Last month, a plenary session of the Nigeria–US Joint Working Group was also held on Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern.