{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415147", "Channels Television article on House Appropriations-Foreign Affairs joint briefing re: Nigeria'Insecurity: US Lawmakers Accuse Nigerian Govt Of Failing To Stop Killings'", "2025-12-02", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher H. Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", "chrissmith", "https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "By Emmanuel Egobiambu\n\nPublished December 2, 2025\n\nUS lawmakers have accused the Nigerian government of not doing enough to address the rising insecurity and killings in the country.\n\nThe lawmakers spoke on Tuesday during the United States House Appropriations Committee joint congressional briefing on the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.\n\nAt the event, the lawmakers took turns to address the situation in the wake of President Donald Trump\u2019s designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern and his threat of military action.\n\n\u201cThe Nigerian government has a fundamental, constitutional obligation to protect its citizens; however, the perpetrators of this persecution operate with complete impunity,\u201d Congressman Chris Smith told the gathering.\n\nAccording to the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee, the US will hold the Nigerian government to account over the killings.\n\n\u201cThe Nigerian government is trying to run out the clock; we cannot allow this to happen. We must act quickly and decisively to save more lives,\u201d he said.\n\nThe lawmakers took turns to address the situation in the wake of President Donald Trump\u2019s designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern and his threat of military action.\n\nRep. Brian Mast echoed a similar sentiment, backing President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to redesignate Nigeria as a country of particular concern.\n\nHe said the US \u201cmust demand that the Nigerian government disarm these militias, return displaced families to their homes, and bring the perpetrators to justice.\u201d\n\nAt the event, Riley Moore, the House Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee Vice Chair and leading religious liberty advocate, doubled down on his allegation of persecution of Christians in Nigeria.\n\nThe Congressman alleged: \u201cThe world will no longer turn a blind eye to the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.\u201d\n\nLawmakers were not the only ones at the briefing. The Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Vicky Hartzler, said that despite early warnings, Nigerian authorities do little to forestall attacks.\n\nWhile calling for more support for Nigeria in the fight against insecurity, Hartzler said: \u201cResources could also be invested in using early warning systems to reduce community violence, and the U.S. government should insist that Nigerian government officials respond when there is an early warning.\n\n\u201cToo many times, local villagers learn of an impending attack and reach out for protection, only to have their cries for help ignored to their ultimate demise. Worse yet, there are stories of law enforcement being called during an attack, and yet no help is sent. This is unacceptable!\u201d\n\nA Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Ebenezer Obadare, said Nigeria\u2019s insecurity can be traced to jihadist terror gangs, especially Boko Haram.\n\nHe said Trump\u2019s move has piled pressure on the Nigerian government, citing calls for the recruitment of more security operatives and the declaration of a national security emergency, among other measures, as dividends.\n\n\u201cWashington must keep up the pressure. The policy goal should be two-fold: first, work with the Nigerian military to neutralize Boko Haram,\u201d Obadare said.\n\n\u201cSecond, the United States should put pressure on President Tinubu to (1) make Sharia law unconstitutional in the twelve northern states where they has been adopted since 2000 and (2) disband the various Hisbah groups across northern states seeking to enforce and impose Islamic law on all citizens regardless of their religious identity.\u201d\n\nOn November 20, there was also a US Congressional hearing to examine the escalating violence in Nigeria and Trump\u2019s declaration of Nigeria as a CPC.\n\nTrump first designated Nigeria as a CPC in 2020, but it was removed from the list by his successor, President Joe Biden.\n\nHowever, the US president, on October 31, redesignated Nigeria as a CPC over religious freedom violations.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415147"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5722261741757393, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}