Alleged Christian Genocide: Nigerian lawmakers constitute committee to draft engagement strategy with US Congress

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday constituted a 12-member ad hoc committee to guide it on how to respond to allegations of Christian genocide levelled by US lawmakers against the country.

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The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the composition of the committee during plenary, after lawmakers emerged from a closed-door session that lasted for about 40 minutes.

Mr Akpabio stated that the committee will advise the Senate on how best to address the genocide allegation and develop a position paper to be presented to the Nigerian government.

“The Senate, in a closed session, deliberated on matters relevant to the workings of the Senate in particular and the National Assembly in general and particularly set up a small ad hoc committee to advise the Senate within one week on the reaction to the current discussion going on the US Congress on the issue of religious crisis in Nigeria and resolve to set up this committee.

“….To come up with a position paper on what should be presented to the executive and also to the Senate that will form a major reaction of the approach of the legislature in Nigeria towards the ongoing discussions in America with facts and statistics,” he said.

Members of the committee include Abubakar Bello (APC, Niger North), Adamu Ailero (APC, Kebbi Central), Victor Umeh (LP, Anambra Central), Aneikan Bassey (PDP, Akwa Ibom North-East), Niyi Adegbonmire (APC, Ondo Central) and Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central).

Others are, Asuquo Ekpenyong (APC, Cross-River South), Adetokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos East), Tony Nwoye (LP, Anambra North), Titus Zam (APC, Benue North-west), Tahir Munguno (APC, Borno North and Abdulhamid Madori (Jigawa North-east).

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The committee’s creation followed Senate’s 9 October resolution to do so. It resolved to send the team to visit the United States to engage directly with members of the Congress over reports of alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria.

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The move comes amid ongoing discussions in the US Congress, which in September 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 jointly sponsored by Ted Cruz, a senator, and some other senators.

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

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

The USCIRF claims that Nigerian aauthorities have failed to protect religious minorities or punish perpetrators of sectarian violence.

However, Nigerian officials have dismissed the allegations as misleading, maintaining that most violent incidents in the country stem from terrorism and criminality rather than religion.