The United States House Appropriations Committee is holding a critical joint congressional briefing today, Tuesday, December, 2, 2025, to examine the escalating violence, mass abductions, and targeted attacks gripping Nigeria, particularly those impacting Christian communities. The high-level session in Washington spotlights the deepening US concern over a crisis that has seen thousands killed and abducted in Nigeria.
Chaired by House Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart, the roundtable includes members from the Foreign Affairs and Financial Services Committees. Representatives from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and other experts are providing testimony to inform a comprehensive report directed by President Trump on the “massacre of Nigerian Christians,” according to Congressman Riley Moore.
The meeting comes as Nigeria faces a severe surge in mass kidnappings, with hundreds abducted across multiple states in recent weeks, including over 300 students from a school in Niger State and a bridal party in Sokoto. Security reports cited in the briefing material reviewed by Culled From From Huhuonline.com indicate that between July 2024 and June 2025, at least 4,722 people were kidnapped in nearly 1,000 incidents, resulting in 762 deaths and millions in ransom payments. US President Donald Trump has threatened potential military action unless further protective measures are implemented by the Nigerian government.
Tinubu Administration Under Fire as Bilateral Relations Deteriorate
The US congressional focus has intensified a diplomatic row, with US lawmakers issuing a blistering rebuke of President Bola Tinubu’s administration for its perceived inability to satisfactorily address the security issues and clarify the nature of the violence.
The Presidency has rejected claims framing the violence solely as religiously motivated, arguing that the insecurity is driven by complex factors like banditry, resource conflicts, and transnational crime that affect all communities. President Tinubu’s administration has declared a nationwide security emergency, redeployed police from VIP protection duties, and authorized the recruitment of additional officers.
However, these actions have failed to convince key US lawmakers that sufficient progress is being made.
The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee has approved sanctions against Nigeria, citing compelling and disturbing testimony that between October 2019 and September 2023, terrorist groups killed 55,910 people and abducted 21,000 others.
The debate centers around President Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) for alleged religious persecution—a designation strongly disputed by Abuja.
Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Policy Communication, dismissed the US committee’s report as lacking context and timelines, arguing that the current administration promotes religious tolerance and has seen “little or no case of persecution of Christians.”
The escalating rhetoric and competing narratives highlight a rapidly deteriorating relationship, with implications for US-Nigeria bilateral and multi-lateral cooperation. While a US-Nigeria Joint Working Group was recently established to enhance counterterrorism and intelligence sharing, the lack of consensus on the nature of the crisis—whether purely criminal or religiously targeted—threatens to undermine these security collaborations and lead to potential sanctions or a reduction in US aid.
