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The United States House of Representatives is set to examine Nigeria’s efforts to protect Christians and address insecurity in the Middle Belt at a congressional hearing scheduled for Thursday, November 12, 2026. Republican lawmaker Chris Smith will lead the session.
A statement from Smith’s office, issued on Monday, said the hearing is titled “One Year Later: Assessing Nigeria’s Efforts to Protect Christians and Secure the Middle Belt.” It is scheduled to begin at 11am at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC.
The hearing will examine religious violence in Nigeria, including attacks attributed in the statement to Boko Haram and armed groups described by the office as “Fulani terrorists.” Lawmakers are also expected to assess the Nigerian government’s response, efforts to hold perpetrators accountable and possible steps the United States could take to address violence against Christian and non-radical Muslim communities.
The first panel will feature 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.
The session will be streamed live on YouTube, allowing viewers to follow the discussions. The hearing comes amid continued international attention on insecurity and religious violence in Nigeria, particularly in parts of the Middle Belt.
The session will be Smith’s 14th congressional hearing focused exclusively on Nigeria. In November 2025, he chaired a hearing following President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern.” He also chaired a hearing in May 2016 on the role of the United States in helping Nigeria confront Boko Haram and other threats in the northern part of the country.
