The United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa has fixed Thursday, November 20, 2025, as the date to begin an investigation into President Donald Trump’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, over Christian killings in Nigeria.
The invite to the members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, according to Channels Television, scheduled for 11:00 am in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building and available via live webcast, will be chaired by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ).
It will feature two panels of witnesses, including senior US State Department officials and Nigerian religious leaders.
The invite read, “You are respectfully requested to attend an open hearing of the Committee on Foreign Affairs to be held by the Subcommittee on Africa at 11:00 a.m. in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building.”
Nigeria was first designated CPC by Trump in 2020, before his successor, President Joe Biden, removed the country from the list after defeating Trump.
On October 31, 2025, President Trump again designated Nigeria a ‘’Country of Particular Concern’’ for religious freedom violations.
Trump’s designation comes amid repeated attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria, including killings by Islamic extremist groups, kidnappings, and the destruction of churches.
The President of the United States cited alleged severe violations of religious freedom, particularly the persecution of Christians.
He claimed that Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria, with thousands of Christians being killed by radical Islamists.
Trump warned that the US would take action, including potential military intervention, if Nigeria did not address the issue.
The US President also threatened to halt all aid and assistance to Nigeria should President Bola Tinubu’s administration fail to end the alleged persecution and killing of Christians.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now-disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.
“I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians,” he said on November 1, 2025.
The hearing panelists will include Senior Bureau Official of the Bureau of African Affairs, Jonathan Pratt, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Jacob McGee.
The second panel will feature the Director of the Centre for Religious Freedom, Ms Nina Shea; Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of Makurdi Catholic Diocese in Nigeria; and Ms Oge Onubogu of the Centre for Strategic & International Studies.
The congressional hearing is expected to review the scope of religious persecution in Nigeria.
It will also weigh potential policy responses, including targeted sanctions, humanitarian assistance, and collaboration with Nigerian authorities to prevent further violence.
The bill is also before the Senate of the United States, sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz.
