A United States lawmaker, Congressman Bill Huizenga, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of failing to take decisive action against the escalating wave of insecurity across Nigeria.
Speaking on Thursday before the US House Subcommittee on Africa, which is reviewing Nigeria’s redesignation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), Huizenga said the Nigerian government had not demonstrated sufficient commitment to protecting vulnerable citizens.
“It ought to be outrageous that it is Christians, moderate Muslims, and anyone being terrorised by these radicalised Islamists in Nigeria, and we’ve got the Tinubu government sitting back and not doing enough,” he said.
The congressman also criticised Nigeria’s delegation to Washington, accusing them of attempting to minimise the severity of the killings.
“I do not understand how a delegation can come here to the United States and downplay and come up with all of these other excuses as to why this is allowed to happen. It should be rejected and called out for what it is,” Huizenga added.
He noted that during a recent interview with Nigerian television, he was asked whether the Tinubu administration was doing enough, and his response was unequivocal: “No, they are not.”
Huizenga further accused sections of the international media and some US lawmakers of ignoring or downplaying religiously targeted attacks in Nigeria.
“We’ve got not just the mass media, we’ve got people within the Congress denying that this is happening, or certainly de-emphasising it,” he said.
He cited the Christmas Eve 2023 attack that claimed over 200 lives as evidence that the security situation had not improved.
Questioning the pattern of attacks, the congressman raised concerns about religiously motivated violence.
“Do we see Christians killing Muslims the way radicalised Islamists kill Christians in Muslim areas?” he asked.
Thursday’s hearing came after US President Donald Trump reinstated Nigeria on the CPC list on 31 October 2025, alleging systematic persecution of Christians. Trump also confirmed that military options were under review.
The Nigerian Government rejected the allegations, with President Tinubu insisting, “Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty. The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our reality.”
Nigeria was first added to the CPC list in 2020 under Trump, before former President Joe Biden removed it shortly after assuming office.
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