A United States Congressman, Bill Huizenga, has levelled fresh allegations against President Bola Tinubu’s administration, accusing it of failing to confront rising violence and religiously motivated attacks across Nigeria.
Huizenga made the remarks on Thursday, November 20, while speaking before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa during a hearing on Nigeria’s redesignation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over alleged religious persecution.
According to the congressman, the Nigerian delegation in Washington attempted to “downplay the severity” of the security crisis, despite repeated attacks on Christians, moderate Muslims, and rural communities.
“It ought to be outrageous that Christians, moderate Muslims, and anyone being terrorised by radicalised Islamists in Nigeria are left vulnerable—while the Tinubu government sits back and is not doing enough,” Huizenga said.
He added: “I don’t understand how a delegation can come to the United States and downplay what is happening. It should be rejected and called out for what it is.”
Huizenga also criticised some U.S. lawmakers and media organisations for “denying or de-emphasising” the scale of killings in Nigeria. He recalled the Christmas Eve 2023 massacre that claimed about 200 lives, insisting that security conditions have not improved.
Pointing to the pattern of violence, he asked: “Do we see Christians killing Muslims the way radicalised Islamists kill Christians in Muslim areas?”
The hearing comes after U.S. President Donald Trump reinstated Nigeria on the CPC list on October 31, 2025, arguing that Christian communities continue to face systematic persecution. U.S. officials say they are reviewing diplomatic, economic, and possible military responses.
The committee is also expected to hear testimonies from senior U.S. State Department officials and Nigerian religious leaders.
In its reaction, the Nigerian government rejected the allegations. President Tinubu maintained that Nigeria remains a democracy rooted in constitutional guarantees of religious freedom.
“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our reality,” he said.
Nigeria was previously placed on the CPC list in 2020 under President Trump but was removed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
Credit: Legit.ng
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