The United States House of Representatives has scheduled a hearing to examine Nigeria’s efforts to protect Christians and address insecurity in the Middle Belt.

The hearing, fixed for Thursday, November 12, 2026, at 11 a.m., will take place at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.

It will be chaired by Chris Smith, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, under the theme, “One Year Later: Assessing Nigeria’s Efforts to Protect Christians and Secure the Middle Belt.”Two panels are expected to testify before the lawmakers.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 comprise Nina Shea of the Hudson Institute, Ryan Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Open Doors US, and Oge Onubogu of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.The lawmakers are expected to assess measures taken by the Nigerian government over the past year to protect Christians, secure the Middle Belt and prosecute perpetrators of religious violence, including members of Boko Haram.They will also examine possible actions the United States could take to compel Nigerian authorities to prevent attacks against Christians and non-radical Muslim communities.The development comes nearly one year after US President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over alleged religious persecution.Trump initially placed Nigeria on the list in 2020, but the administration of former President Joe Biden removed the country when he assumed office.However, on October 31, 2025, Trump restored Nigeria to the list, alleging that Christianity was facing an existential threat and that thousands of Christians had been killed by radical Islamist groups.He subsequently threatened to withdraw US aid and warned of possible military intervention if the Nigerian government failed to stop the killings.