Posted by Chinenye on Fri 13th Nov, 2026 - tori.ng
The U.S. government says Nigeria has not done enough to stop attacks on Christian communities, especially in Benue and Plateau states.
(US congress. Photo credit: Brookings Institution)
The United States believes Nigeria has not done enough to stop attacks against Christians, so it is keeping Nigeria on its religious freedom watchlist.
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia said this on Thursday at a congressional hearing on violence in Nigeria.
He was answering questions from U.S. Congressman Riley Moore.
Moore pressed the Nigerian government on its efforts to dismantle militia bases and kidnapping camps in the Middle Belt, especially in Benue and Plateau.
He asked what operations had been carried out since U.S. Under Secretary Allison Hooker raised concerns about the pace of Nigeria's response in August.
He also asked why Benue and Plateau were left out of the 10 states covered by Nigeria's new forest guard programme.
He pointed out that 1000 presidentially approved guards for Plateau have yet to be posted.
Moore said the US should not remove Nigeria from the CPC list because the government has not done enough.
Garcia agreed that progress has been lacking.
He said Nigeria is not ignoring the concerns and is taking steps, but those steps have not yet made a difference on the ground.
He described the country's efforts as capacity building, saying the forces are not yet deployed effectively or moving fast enough, though he noted a real commitment from the government.
He said the U.S. Nigeria Joint Working Group, which met in Abuja in January and Washington in August, is a key tool for holding Nigeria to its promises.
The group has pushed for more troops in vulnerable Middle Belt areas, quicker responses to early warnings, accountability for attackers and closer military cooperation.
Garcia said the Trump administration has treated violence against Christians in Nigeria as a priority since Nigeria was redesignated a CPC on October 31 2025.
He pointed to a July 27 attack on a Christian community in Kaduna and killings in Plateau in August and September.
"Unfortunately, the violence has not stopped," he said.
He added that the US has provided training and equipment to police units protecting vulnerable communities.
It has also expanded biometric information sharing with Nigeria to help identify and prosecute attackers, and has worked with Nigerian banks on a plan to cut off money that funds attacks on churches.
He admitted that Nigeria's security forces are stretched thin and that courts have limited access to parts of the Middle Belt.
The Nigerian government has rejected claims of a "Christian genocide" or targeted religious persecution.
It says the violence comes from wider security problems, including banditry, terrorism and disputes over resources, which affect people of all faiths.