US Congressman Bill Huizenga has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of “sitting back” and not taking adequate steps to confront Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.
He made the remarks on Thursday while testifying before the US House Subcommittee on Africa, which is reviewing Nigeria’s redesignation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
Huizenga said he was troubled by what he described as the Nigerian government’s weak response to escalating violence. He also criticised Nigeria’s delegation in Washington for allegedly downplaying the severity of the crisis. “It ought to be outrageous that it is Christians, moderate Muslims, and anyone being terrorised by these radicalised Islamists in Nigeria, and we’ve got the Tinubu government sitting back and not doing enough. I was recently interviewed by Nigerian television, and that was really their question. Is the Tinubu government doing enough? And I had to answer, ‘No, they are not.’”
Expressing disbelief, he continued, “And I do not understand how a delegation can come here to the United States and downplay and come up with all of these other excuses as to why this is allowed to happen. It should be rejected, and should be called out for what it is.”
The congressman also accused the media and some lawmakers of “denying” or “de-emphasising” the scale of the killings across Nigeria. “I went to school with kids from Nigeria. We’ve got neighbours who’ve been missionaries there, who have family there, who have friends there, who know this is going on. Yet, we’ve got not just the mass media, we’ve got people within the Congress denying that this is happening, or certainly de-emphasising it,” he said.
Huizenga referenced the Christmas Eve 2023 attack that claimed 200 lives, arguing that such incidents show security conditions have not improved. He further questioned the recurring pattern of religiously targeted killings. “Do we see Christians killing Muslims the way radicalised Islamists kill Christians in Muslim areas?” he asked.
The subcommittee is expected to hear from senior US State Department officials and Nigerian religious leaders as the review continues.
Thursday’s hearing follows US President Donald Trump’s decision to reinstate Nigeria on the CPC list on 31 October 2025, alleging systematic persecution of Christians. He also confirmed that military options were under consideration. The Nigerian Government firmly rejected the accusations. President Tinubu responded that, “Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty. The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our reality”.
Nigeria was initially designated a CPC in 2020 under Trump, but former President Joe Biden removed the country from the list shortly after assuming office.
What You Should Know
Bill Huizenga is a Republican congressman known for his strong advocacy on international human rights and religious freedom.
His comments reflect increasing pressure from US lawmakers about Nigeria’s insecurity crisis, especially attacks targeting Christian and Muslim communities.
His stance adds weight to renewed debates in Washington following Nigeria’s restoration to the CPC list, signalling potential diplomatic and policy implications for the Nigerian government.
