The United States Congress is set to hold a hearing on allegations of Christian persecution and religious violence in Nigeria, with witnesses expected to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The hearing, titled “Defending Religious Freedom Around the World,” will be jointly convened on Wednesday by the Subcommittee on Africa and the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.
Among those scheduled to testify are former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, Grace Drexel, the daughter of Pastor Ezra Jin, and Dr Stephen F. Schneck, a former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
In his prepared remarks, Brownback warned that “radical, militant Islam” continues to expand its influence across the Middle East, North Africa and beyond, describing Nigeria and Syria as key areas of concern.
He claimed that “early warning signs of a Muslim-on-Christian war are brewing across Africa,” adding that Nigeria is the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian.
Brownback also alleged that Nigeria is receiving increasing support from countries including China, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
In his own submission, Schneck said failing or fragile states often provide fertile ground for the rise of armed groups whether insurgent, ethnic or religious posing serious threats to freedom of religion.
He added that banditry and organised crime also target religious communities in such environments, naming Nigeria, Syria and Sudan as current examples.
Schneck further noted that both Nigeria and Syria are experiencing high levels of insecurity and that their governments have been unable to stop widespread violence against faith-based communities.
He also raised concerns about delays in the release of the US State Department’s International Religious Freedom reports, as well as the lack of updated US designations for Countries of Particular Concern, Special Watch Lists and related classifications.
According to Schneck, Nigeria is currently the only country on the designation list, calling the situation worrying at a time when nations such as China and Iran are accused of increasing repression against religious groups.
