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US Congressman Bill Huizenga has accused Bola Tinubu’s administration of “sitting back” and failing to tackle the worsening security crisis in Nigeria.
Huizenga made the remarks on Thursday while testifying before the US House Subcommittee on Africa during a review of Nigeria’s redesignation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
He directly criticised the Nigerian delegation in Washington for downplaying the security situation.
“It ought to be outrageous that Christians, moderate Muslims, and anyone being terrorised by radicalised Islamists in Nigeria are suffering while the Tinubu government sits back and does not do enough.
“I was recently asked by Nigerian television whether the government is acting, and my answer was, ‘No, they are not,’” Huizenga said.
He added, “I do not understand how a delegation can come here and downplay the crisis, offering excuses instead of accountability. This should be rejected and called out for what it is.”
Huizenga also criticised media coverage and some members of Congress for “denying” or “downplaying” the scale of killings in Nigeria.
He recalled a Christmas Eve 2023 attack that killed 200 people, noting it highlighted the persistence of insecurity.
“Do we see Christians killing Muslims the way radicalised Islamists kill Christians in Muslim areas?” he asked, questioning the pattern of religiously motivated attacks.
The hearing will also feature testimony from senior US State Department officials and Nigerian religious leaders.
Thursday’s session followed US President Donald Trump’s reinstatement of Nigeria on the CPC list on 31 October 2025, citing systematic persecution of Christians and signalling that military options were under review.
The Nigerian government rejected the claims, with President Tinubu insisting, “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 first designated a CPC in 2020 under Trump, but former President Joe Biden removed the country from the list shortly after taking office.
