The US Congress on Thursday debated rising religious violence in Nigeria and the imprisonment of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
During the session, U.S. Rep. Charles D. Fall cited Kanu’s case as a clear example of judicial defiance and the erosion of the rule of law in Nigeria.
Fall referenced Thursday’s decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja, where Justice James Omotosho sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment after convicting him on seven counts of terrorism, incitement, treasonable felony, and illegal importation of a radio transmitter.
Six of the counts, he noted, were filed under the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013, and the seventh under the Criminal Code Act.
Fall stressed that in 2022, Nigeria’s Court of Appeal discharged and acquitted Kanu and ordered his release, a ruling also backed by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, yet the IPOB leader remained detained.
“The UN called his detention arbitrary, yet he remains in solitary confinement and recently had to represent himself in court. Nigeria has signalled that the law is optional, and targeting Christians is fair game,” Fall said.
He revealed that “just hours ago, Nnamdi Kanu was convicted on all charges”, despite public appeals from Nigerian citizens and lawmakers.
Fall questioned the continued flow of US foreign assistance to Nigeria, stating, “When Americans see political prisoners, judicial defiance, and the slaughter of Christians, they ask, ‘Why should our tax dollars support governments that refuse to protect their own people? Is aid aiding genocide?”
He argued that Nigeria’s potential is being destroyed by the widespread persecution of Christians:
“No country can build a stable future where churches are burnt, believers are killed, and communities live in fear.”
The hearing also addressed President Donald Trump’s recent warning of possible military action and suspension of aid to Nigeria over alleged genocide against Christians.
Some lawmakers backed Trump’s position, while others condemned it as dangerous.
Democrat Pramila Jayapal questioned, “Under what authority would the US strike inside Nigeria?”
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs called Trump’s threat reckless, adding that “Any unilateral military action in Nigeria is illegal. Violence affects both Christians and Muslims, and portraying it solely as a religious conflict is harmful.”
A testimony also came from Most Rev. Wilfred Anagbe, Catholic Bishop of Makurdi Diocese, Benue State, who declared Nigeria “the deadliest place on earth to be a Christian.”
Speaking before the Subcommittee on Africa investigating Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), Bishop Anagbe detailed continued attacks on Christian communities in the Middle Belt:
“Since my testimony in March 2025, thousands more have been killed, displaced, or subjected to violence. Villages have been burnt, churches destroyed, and priests attacked. The government’s response remains inadequate.”
He cited recent attacks, including the displacement of an entire convent on May 22, the shooting of Father Solomon on Palm Sunday (April 18), and repeated assaults on Benue and Plateau communities.
“More believers are killed annually in Nigeria than in the rest of the world combined, yet perpetrators face little accountability. Without urgent intervention, Christianity risks being wiped out in Northern and Middle Belt Nigeria.”
Experts, including Nina Shea of the Hudson Institute, accused Nigeria of either participating in or tolerating severe religious persecution, while Congressman Bill Huizenga attributed the violence to radicalised Islamist groups targeting Christians.
“The Tinubu government is not doing enough. It is outrageous that anyone would downplay what is happening,” Huizenga said.
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