A US House of Representatives panel is due to hear from senior State Department (US foreign ministry) officials and outside experts on Thursday 12 November 2026 about how well Nigeria protects its Christians. The hearing is called “One Year Later: Assessing Nigeria’s Efforts to Protect Christians and Secure the Middle Belt”.
It is run in Washington by the Africa Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the House body that oversees US foreign policy. The Middle Belt is Nigeria’s central region, between the largely Muslim north and the largely Christian south.
Key Facts
- When Thursday 12 November 2026, 11 a.m., Room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington.
- Who The House Africa Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican.
- Witnesses Two senior US State Department officials and three outside experts on religious freedom and Africa.
- Focus How far Nigeria has protected Christians and secured the Middle Belt, its central region, this past year.
- Background After Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a religious-freedom “Country of Particular Concern”, a hearing followed on 20 November 2025.
One year after a hearing on the same subject, a US House panel returns to the question of how well Nigeria protects Christians in its central states.
Who Will Testify
The subcommittee lists two panels. The first has Frank Garcia, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, and Riley Barnes, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor.
The second panel has Nina Shea, who directs the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank. It also has Ryan Brown, chief executive of Open Doors US, a Christian support group for persecuted believers, and Oge Onubogu, who leads the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, another Washington think tank.
Chris Smith chairs the subcommittee, and Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat, is its senior Democrat. The subcommittee’s page names both, and the hearing page lists the hearing as scheduled.
How We Got Here
The same subcommittee held a hearing on Thursday 20 November 2025 whose title refers to President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern”. That is a State Department label for governments that carry out or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom, created under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
At that earlier hearing, two State Department officials testified alongside outside experts including Nina Shea and Oge Onubogu. This year’s page lists Ryan Brown as a new outside witness.
What Is Not Known
No livestream is listed on the committee’s hearing page, and the page carries no statement from the chairman. What the officials will say about Nigeria’s record, or whether new US steps follow, is not known.
No Nigerian government official is on the witness list. Any response from the government in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, would have to come separately.
What It Means for You
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and a major oil exporter, so US policy toward it reaches beyond the question of church attacks. Hearings like this one keep religious freedom in Africa on the agenda for aid, security cooperation and sanctions debates in Washington.
A hearing does not change policy by itself. It can, however, lead to letters, bills and questions to the administration.
Related reading: Nigeria and the United States, explained and how Nigeria’s religions are split.
More: Nigeria news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the hearing?
It is on Thursday 12 November 2026 at 11 a.m. in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington. The committee lists it as scheduled.
Who is testifying?
Frank Garcia and Riley Barnes, two assistant secretaries of state, speak first. Nina Shea of the Hudson Institute, Ryan Brown of Open Doors US and Oge Onubogu of the Center for Strategic and International Studies follow.
What is a Country of Particular Concern?
It is a US State Department designation for governments that engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom, set up under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. The 2025 hearing title refers to President Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria.
Can the public watch it?
The committee’s hearing page lists no livestream as of 10 November 2026. Check the committee website on the day.
Sources: House Foreign Affairs Committee, hearing page, 12 November 2026; House Foreign Affairs Committee, hearing page, 20 November 2025.
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