The United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa has scheduled an open hearing for Thursday, November 20, 2025, to examine President Donald Trump’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for severe violations of religious freedom.
The designation, announced on October 31, 2025, cites an “existential threat” to Christianity in Nigeria, with thousands of Christians reportedly killed by radical Islamists.
If ratified by the Senate, the CPC status would enable targeted sanctions on Nigerian officials complicit in religious persecution, restrictions on certain bilateral assistance, and signal growing international alarm over Nigeria’s deteriorating religious freedom landscape.
The hearing, chaired by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), will begin at 11:00 a.m. in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building and will be live-webcast. It features two panels: the first with senior State Department officials Jonathan Pratt (Senior Bureau Official, Bureau of African Affairs) and Jacob McGee (Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor); the second with Nigerian Catholic Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of Makurdi Diocese, Nina Shea (Director, Center for Religious Freedom), and Oge Onubogu (Center for Strategic & International Studies).
Lawmakers are expected to probe the scope of anti-Christian violence and explore U.S. policy options ranging from sanctions and humanitarian aid adjustments to deeper collaboration with Nigerian authorities.
President Trump has warned that failure by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to halt the alleged persecution could lead to a complete cutoff of U.S. aid and even potential military intervention.
The November 20 hearing marks Congress’s first formal response to the controversial redesignation and is likely to intensify debate over Nigeria’s worsening security crisis, the balance between sovereignty and human rights advocacy, and the future of U.S.–Nigeria bilateral relations.