ABUJA, Nigeria – The United States House of Representatives is scheduled to hold a congressional hearing on Thursday to examine Nigeria’s efforts to protect Christian communities and address insecurity in the country’s Middle Belt.
The hearing, titled “One Year Later: Assessing Nigeria’s Efforts to Protect Christians and Secure the Middle Belt”, will be chaired by Republican lawmaker Chris Smith, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa.
Smith’s office announced the session in a statement published on his official website on Monday. The hearing will examine religious violence by extremist groups, the Nigerian government’s response and measures to protect vulnerable communities. It will also consider possible steps the United States could take to encourage stronger action by Nigerian authorities.
The statement said lawmakers would assess what it described as religious violence against Christians by groups including Boko Haram and alleged Fulani militants. It also said the session would examine attacks affecting Christian and non-radical Muslim communities. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 11am local time at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC, and will be streamed live on YouTube.
The first panel will feature two US State Department officials: Frank Garcia, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Riley Barnes, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour.
The second panel will include Nina Shea, Senior Fellow and Director of the Centre for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute; Ryan Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Open Doors US; and Oge Onubogu, Director and Senior Fellow of the Africa Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. Smith’s office described the session as his 14th congressional hearing on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
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