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The United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa will on Thursday, November 20, 2025, convene an open hearing to examine President Donald Trump’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over alleged religious freedom violations.
The designation, issued on October 31, 2025, has sparked intense diplomatic debate, raising the possibility of sanctions, restricted development assistance, and even potential military action, options the Trump administration has publicly floated.
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The hearing, slated for 11:00 a.m. in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building and livestreamed globally, will be chaired by Chris Smith, Representative (R-NJ), a long-time critic of Nigeria’s handling of religious violence.
According to an invitation circulated to members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, the session will feature two panels comprising senior US officials and prominent Nigerian religious leaders.
The first panel will include Jonathan Pratt, Senior Bureau Official in the Bureau of African Affairs, and Jacob McGee, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
A second panel will feature Nina Shea, Director of the Centre for Religious Freedom; Wilfred Anagbe of the Makurdi Catholic Diocese; and Oge Onubogu of the Centre for Strategic & International Studies.
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Lawmakers are seeking to interrogate the scale of religious persecution in Nigeria, the government’s response, and potential policy tools available to the United States, ranging from targeted sanctions to humanitarian interventions.
