The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa met on Thursday, November 12, 2026, for a hearing titled “One Year Later: Assessing Nigeria’s Efforts to Protect Christians and Secure the Middle Belt.” Chaired by Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, the session in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building looked at what Nigeria has done in the year since President Donald Trump returned the country to the State Department’s list of Countries of Particular Concern, a designation for severe violations of religious freedom, on October 31, 2025. Smith’s office described the session as his 14th congressional hearing on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
Two State Department officials testified on the first panel: Frank Garcia, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Riley Barnes, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. A second panel of outside witnesses followed: Nina Shea of the Hudson Institute, Ryan Brown of Open Doors US, and Oge Onubogu of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“I find that contemptible”
Smith told the hearing that Nigeria’s own Attorney General had personally dismissed a Catholic bishop who had testified before the subcommittee. Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Diocese of Makurdi, in Benue State, has testified to the subcommittee before about attacks on Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. Smith said that in a meeting, the Attorney General told him the bishop was lying.
“It’s very disturbing that we can’t get a clear message from the government of Nigeria in Abuja and acknowledgement that they have a serious problem in the middle belt,” Smith said. “As a matter of fact, in that one meeting, the Attorney General for Nigeria told me that Bishop Anagbe, who had testified here, is a liar. And I took great exception to that. He’s a holy man. He’s lost so many of his flock, his family, who have been killed by Fulani terrorists. And we’re being told by the Attorney General of Nigeria that he’s a liar. I find that contemptible.”
“Nigeria remains one of the deadliest places in the world to be a Christian”
Garcia told the panel that Abuja’s message had shifted since its first meetings with the administration, but he did not soften the underlying judgment.
“And I would have to say that the earlier message, possibly from when they came in and first met with you, we have seen some change,” Garcia said. “That said, Nigeria remains one of the deadliest places in the world to be a Christian. And I’m grateful that with President Trump and Secretary Rubio’s leadership and Nigeria’s collaboration that we’re working to bring that to an end.”
What happens next
The hearing produced no vote and no new law. Its product is the public record, which later decisions rely on. Smith used the session to press for stronger action, including passage of H.R. 7457, the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026. The Country of Particular Concern designation itself belongs to the executive branch. The hearing record now passes to the new Congress that takes office in January, when control of the House changes hands and Smith gives up the subcommittee gavel. The committee had not published a full transcript at the time this draft was prepared.
Video: House Foreign Affairs Committee
