The United States House of Repr e s e n t a t ive s yesterday introduced a new law requiring the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to compile and submit to Congress a comprehensive report on the Donald Trump administration’s efforts to address the ongoing targeted killings in Nigeria.

A new legislation introduced by the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee Chairman, Chris Smith and Riley Moore, along with the backing of a team of leading foreign affairs lawmakers, expressed deep concerns over the Bola Tinubu government’s failure to protect its citizens from armed gangs killing and abducting innocent Nigerians across the country. Smith, who has chaired 13 congressional hearings on the religious persecution crisis in Nigeria, said in a statement:

“The Nigerian government’s blatant denial of the religious persecution occurring within its borders has only enabled the religious-based violence in the country to fester, with Christian deaths and church attacks reaching unprecedented numbers. “Now that President Trump has rightly redesignated Nigeria a ‘Country of Particular Concern (CPC)’, the United States has a responsibility to do its due diligence in ensuring that the Nigerian government is taking the proper steps to address and punish the systemic violence against Christians and non-radical Muslims by Islamist extremists, such as Boko Haram and Fulani terrorists.

“For years, Christians in Nigeria have faced unspeakable violence— churches burned, villages destroyed, families slaughtered—while the global community looked away. “As part of the investigation President Trump asked me to lead, I visited Nigeria and witnessed first-hand the horrors our brothers and sisters in Christ face and saw the security challenges Nigeria faces.” The House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, Brian Mast, decried mass murders, kidnappings and brutal assaults on defenceless Nigerians at the hands of terrorist thugs and armed militias in Nigeria, asking the Federal Government to act.

He said: “This bill aligns with President Trump’s steps to hold them accountable and signal to the world that the US stands firm in defending religious freedom.” The House Appropriations Committee Chairman, Tom Cole, added: “Defending religious liberty in Nigeria and worldwide is both a moral duty and a vital American interest. Moreover, this bill, as well as President Trump’s ongoing efforts, does just that. “The Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 make it clear: religious persecution will not be tolerated.”