Nigerian lawmakers to send delegation to US Congress

The Senate, Nigeria’s highest legislative body, is proposing to set up an ad hoc committee to visit the United States to engage with members of the US Congress over reports accusing Nigeria of committing genocide against Christians.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, disclosed this during Thursday’s plenary during a debate on a motion on the matter.

The motion was sponsored by Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume, and co-sponsored by 20 other senators, mostly from northern Nigeria.

Mr Akpabio said the Senate would constitute a delegation to interface with the US legislature, adding that the composition of the committee would be decided during a closed-door session

“What is happening in the United States is of concern to Nigeria. It’s of concern to the Christians. It’s of concern to the Muslims because the moment they bring sanctions, sanctions breed poverty, and poverty knows no religion. So, for me, engagement will be the best.

“When we go into executive session, we can decide to set up a small ad hoc committee to go to the United States of America and engage our colleague parliamentarians there and then to also educate them, because if you see what these people are doing, most of them are outsiders. They are killing Nigerians. I don’t know who will now go and sit down and bring out maybe the dead bodies and say this one is a Christian, this one is from this family, this one must be a Muslim,” he said.

He stressed that terrorist activities were aimed at destabilising the country and preventing citizens from farming, not targeting any particular faith.

“We are facing a situation whereby these terrorists are trying to terminate the lives of Nigerians, and then of course, frustrates us from going into the farms, producing food to feed ourselves.

“It’ll be better in a closed session. And I think at the end of the day, we should actually have a small team that should visit our colleagues and also put the other side because some people must have gone there to give a one-sided story,” the senate president said.

The Bill

In September, the US Congress introduced a bill seeking to classify Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” for alleged violations of religious freedom.

The bill titled “The Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act, 2025 (S. 2747)” was sponsored by Ted Cruz and co-sponsored by other US lawmakers.

It mandates the US Government to identify and sanction Nigerian officials responsible for enforcing blasphemy laws.

The measure was inspired by recommendations from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which has repeatedly urged the U.S. State Department to designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern.”

USCIRF reports allege that Nigerian authorities have failed to protect religious minorities or punish perpetrators of sectarian violence. Nigerian officials, however, argue that such claims are misleading, insisting that most violence in the country is driven by terrorism and criminality, not religion.

Over the years, several international organisations, particularly Christian advocacy groups, have ranked Nigeria among the most dangerous places in the world for Christians.

In its 2025 World Watch List, a Christian group called Open Doors listed Nigeria among the top ten countries where Christians face severe persecution.

Last month, an international platform reported that five Christians were killed by terrorists while working on their farms in Nogoshe village, Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State. In a separate incident, three others were also reportedly murdered in their homes in the Mussa community, Askira-Uba LGA of Borno State.

“No Christian genocide in Nigeria”

Mr Akpabio maintained that Nigeria’s security crisis should not be framed as a religious war.

“If terrorism occurs in a Christian-dominated state, most people that will die there will be Christians. If it occurs in a Muslim-dominated state, most of those who will die there will be Muslims. But if it occurs particularly in the North Central, you will notice that it will be targeted at maybe churches, because that is what they are able to get. And then at the end, they will say, Oh, it’s Muslims kill Christians.

“So, the way the whole situation is, is that we still need to go into executive session and get a date for our security summit so we can have a closed discussion on this matter,” he added.

The senate president argued that several Muslims have also been killed in insurgencies across the country, listing violence in the South-east as another example of insecurity not linked to religion.

“But I can tell you that a lot of Muslims have lost their lives in the last five, 10 years. The same way, Christians have also lost their lives. So, my personal opinion is that Nigerians have lost their lives as a result of insurgencies.

“So, if you look at what is happening in the South-east, predominantly Christians, most of those that are killed in the South-east, including the late husband of our demise icon Dora Akunyili, the way the man was shot dead and everything. Will you come and ascribe that to religion? I’m talking about what IPOB is doing. You see brothers killing brothers.”

Mr Akpabio said Nigeria’s security challenges are complex and urged lawmakers to present a balanced narrative to the international community.

“The sit at home that is going on on Mondays in the South-east has almost crippled the economy of the South-east. Is this targeted at Christians or Muslims? So, Nigeria has complex security situations, and we should actually go out there and educate people so that they will know what to do. But when they just come out with a one-sided motion, it means they have a target, and that target is not to strengthen the economy of Nigeria. That’s my personal opinion. So, it’s left to us as a parliament to take proactive actions and be strategic in our response,” he said.

Call for security reform

Ondo South Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, while contributing to the debate, called for a complete review of Nigeria’s counterterrorism approach.

“We need to understand the tactics and the practice of the terrorists. And we must now engage the executive on counterterrorism. Because the argument is that most of the launched counterterrorism approaches are not sufficient enough to actually engage the terrorists. The summary of my submission is that unless we can place in proper perspective the strategy of the terrorists, it will be difficult… Mr. Senate President, unless we engage knowledge and know the strategy of the terrorists, it will be difficult for us to actually suggest what counterterrorism strategy we engage in to get this thing out of us. It’s not a simple matter,” Mr Ibrahim said.