Experts dispute Nigerian government’s claims amid congressional probe of escalating attacks on Christians
House appropriators and foreign affairs leaders convened a rare joint briefing Tuesday as part of a broader congressional investigation into what lawmakers and experts describe as escalating and targeted violence...
By Fox News · Fox News
House appropriators and foreign affairs leaders convened a rare joint briefing Tuesday as part of a broader congressional investigation into what lawmakers and experts describe as escalating and targeted violence against Christians in Nigeria. The session — led by House Appropriations Vice Chair and National Security Subcommittee Chairman Mario Díaz-Balart, R-Fla. — is feeding into a comprehensive report ordered by President Trump on recent massacres of Nigerian Christians and potential policy steps the U.S. could take to pressure Abuja to respond. Trump directed Congress , led by Reps. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., and Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., to probe Christian persecution in Nigeria and produce a report for the White House to review. He has floated the idea of taking direct military action against Islamists who kill. Vicky Hartzler, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, told lawmakers that "religious freedom [is] under siege," citing the abduction of more than 300 children and attacks in which "radical Muslims kill entire Christian villages [and] burn churches." She said violations are "rampant," "violent," and disproportionately affect Christians, who she argued are targeted "at a 2.2 to 1 rate" compared with Muslims. ARMED ATTACKERS IN NIGERIA KIDNAP 25 GIRLS FROM BOARDING SCHOOL Hartzler said Nigeria has taken some initial corrective steps — including reassigning about 100,000 police officers from VIP protection details — but warned the country is entering a "coordinated and deeply troubling period of escalated violence." She recommended targeted sanctions on Nigerian officials "who have demonstrated complicity," visa restrictions, blocking U.S.-based assets, and conditioning foreign and humanitarian aid on measurable accountability. She also urged Congress to direct the Government Accountability Office to conduct a review of past U.S. assistance and said Abuja should retake villages seized from Christian farming communiti…