The United States has criticised Nigeria’s response to attacks on Christian communities, saying the country has not made sufficient progress to address the violence and should remain on its list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC).
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Frank Garcia, stated this on Thursday during a congressional hearing while responding to questions from US Congressman Riley Moore.
Moore questioned the Nigerian government’s efforts to dismantle militia camps and kidnapping networks across the Middle Belt, particularly in Benue and Plateau states.
He also expressed concerns over the exclusion of Benue and Plateau from the 10 states covered by Nigeria’s new forest guard initiative, despite repeated attacks in the areas. He further noted that 1,000 forest guards approved for deployment to Plateau State had yet to be mobilised.
Moore insisted that Nigeria should not be removed from the CPC list, arguing that the government had failed to demonstrate sufficient commitment to ending the violence.
Responding, Garcia acknowledged that progress had been limited, although he maintained that the Nigerian government was taking steps to address the security concerns.
He said the measures introduced so far had yet to produce meaningful results.
Garcia identified the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group as a major mechanism for monitoring Nigeria’s commitments, strengthening accountability and assessing progress in protecting vulnerable communities.
He also acknowledged US-supported counterterrorism operations in the Lake Chad Basin but noted that the efforts had not necessarily addressed attacks attributed to Fulani militants across the Middle Belt.
Describing Nigeria’s security response, Garcia said the country was still building the capacity required to tackle the violence effectively.
He added that the available capacity had not been adequately deployed and that progress remained slower than Washington expected.
In his prepared testimony, Garcia said President Donald Trump’s administration had prioritised the protection of Christians in Nigeria since the country was redesignated a Country of Particular Concern on October 31, 2025.
He cited continued attacks on Christian communities, including an assault in Kaduna State on July 27 and killings in Plateau State in August and September.
“Unfortunately, the violence has not stopped,” Garcia said, describing the situation as an ongoing atrocity.
He disclosed that the US had engaged Nigerian authorities through the Joint Working Group, which held its inaugural meeting in Abuja in January and another meeting in Washington in August.
The discussions focused on increasing security deployments in vulnerable communities, improving responses to early warnings, holding perpetrators accountable and strengthening military cooperation.
Garcia also revealed that Washington had provided training and equipment to Nigerian police units responsible for protecting vulnerable communities through its Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
Other measures include expanded biometric information-sharing to identify suspects, as well as cooperation with Nigerian financial institutions to disrupt terrorist financing networks linked to attacks on churches.
He further said US officials had raised concerns about civilian casualties, the safe and voluntary return of internally displaced persons and transparency in humanitarian aid distribution.
Despite these interventions, Garcia acknowledged that Nigeria’s security system remained overstretched and that access to justice was limited in some parts of the Middle Belt.
He said the United States would maintain diplomatic pressure, retain Nigeria’s CPC designation and continue targeted security cooperation to encourage the protection of Christian communities and accountability for those responsible for the attacks.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has repeatedly rejected allegations of a Christian genocide or systematic religious persecution, maintaining that the country’s insecurity is driven by broader challenges, including banditry, terrorism and resource-related conflicts affecting people of different religious backgrounds.
