Witnesses appearing before the U.S. Congress Foreign Affairs Committee have warned that Nigeria is at risk of descending into widespread Christian–Muslim violence, identifying the country as a major flashpoint in a global crisis of religious freedom.
The warning appears in written testimonies released ahead of a joint hearing convened Wednesday by the House Subcommittee on Africa and the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, titled “Defending Religious Freedom Around the World.” The session will examine mounting threats to religious freedom globally, citing recurring killings, displacement and insecurity in Nigeria as signs of a potential broader conflict.
Among those scheduled to testify are former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback; Mark Walker, principal advisor for global religious freedom at the U.S. State Department; Grace Drexel, daughter of detained Chinese pastor Ezra Jin; and Dr. Stephen Schneck, former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
In his testimony, Brownback described Nigeria as “the deadliest place on the planet to be a Christian” and said patterns of violence in the country suggest a deepening religious crisis with implications beyond its borders. He warned that early signs of a Muslim-on-Christian war are emerging in Africa and cautioned that foreign involvement from countries such as China, Russia, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia could exacerbate instability.
“Radical, militant Islam continues its purification efforts throughout the MENA region and beyond,” Brownback said. “Syria and Nigeria are key focus areas for them in their quest for dominance, excluding all other faiths, even others within Islam. The people of faith being targeted are America’s greatest allies in the spread of freedom around the world.”
Schneck described freedom of religion or belief as being in a “historic crisis” worldwide, driven by rising authoritarianism, religious nationalism, and weak governance. He singled out Nigeria, Syria, and Sudan as countries where insecurity has created dangerous conditions for religious communities, allowing armed groups, insurgents, and criminal networks to exploit religious identity, leading to killings, displacement, and long-term instability.
The former U.S. envoy also criticized Washington’s implementation of the International Religious Freedom Act, arguing that the government has relied on high-profile events and social media statements rather than sustained, country-specific strategies. He noted delays in the release of State Department reports and the absence of updated designations of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC), Special Watch List countries, or Entities of Particular Concern.
Nigeria is currently the only country designated as a CPC, a status granted by former President Donald Trump over alleged religious freedom violations. The designation has prompted military and security consultations between the United States and Nigeria, including a visit by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu to the Pentagon in November 2025 and meetings with U.S. congressional delegations in Abuja.
The Nigerian government has dismissed claims of systemic Christian persecution, maintaining that insecurity affects citizens of all religious backgrounds.
The congressional hearing is expected to deliver the testimonies in full and assess potential policy responses to global threats to religious freedom, with Nigeria at the center of the discussion.
