US President Donald Trump
- U.S. lawmakers to examine attacks on Christian communities, M’Belt violence
- APC promises 28,000 troops, 50,000 additional police officers
- ADC challenges Tinubu’s record, dismisses re-election promises
- Duke warns of national crisis, offers to step down for consensus
- Obi says Nigeria cannot progress while citizens live in fear
• UNHCR reports 64,000 Nigerians flee to Niger amid worsening attacks
Concerns about killings in Nigeria have attracted renewed international attention, with the United States Congress set to hold another hearing tomorrow on attacks against Christian communities and security challenges in the Middle Belt, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that nearly 64,000 Nigerians have fled to neighbouring Niger this year.
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The developments come amid mounting political pressure on President Bola Tinubu’s administration, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) promising a major security overhaul ahead of the 2027 elections and opposition figures questioning its capacity to protect lives and property.
The United States Congress is set to hold another hearing on insecurity in Nigeria, with lawmakers expected to examine attacks on Christian communities, the Federal Government’s efforts to protect vulnerable populations and the security situation in the Middle Belt.
The hearing will be convened by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and chaired by Congressman Chris Smith.
Titled “One Year Later: Assessing Nigeria’s Efforts to Protect Christians and Secure the Middle Belt”, the session will assess the government’s response to attacks, efforts to bring perpetrators to justice and measures to safeguard vulnerable communities.
According to a notice from Smith’s office, lawmakers will also examine the role of extremist groups in the violence and possible steps the United States could take to address the situation.
Two panels of witnesses are expected to appear, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Frank Garcia, and Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, Riley Barnes.
Others are Nina Shea of the Hudson Institute, Ryan Brown of Open Doors U.S. and Oge Onubogu, Director of the Africa Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
Smith said the session would be his 14th congressional hearing on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
The development comes amid renewed attention from the Trump administration and American lawmakers to attacks on Christian communities in the country.
In October 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over alleged violations of religious freedom.
The designation has featured prominently in discussions between Nigerian and American officials, with the Federal Government maintaining that insecurity affects citizens of different religious backgrounds and should not be characterised solely as religious persecution.
The hearing will take place at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC and will be streamed live online.
Nearly 64,000 Nigerians flee to Niger
The international attention comes against the backdrop of a growing humanitarian crisis, with nearly 64,000 people fleeing northern Nigeria for neighbouring Niger this year to escape attacks by Islamist militants and armed gangs, according to UNHCR.
The influx is stretching resources in Niger, which already hosts more than 500,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, including about 327,500 Nigerians. Several hundred Nigerians have also sought refuge in Benin.
Most of the new arrivals have settled in the border regions of Diffa and Tahoua. More than 23,000 people, over two-thirds of them children, have arrived in Diffa alone since the beginning of the year.
UNHCR spokesperson, Dominique Hyde, said thousands of newly arrived refugees, many of them children, were struggling to survive with limited access to food, clean water, shelter and essential services, as humanitarian resources fall critically short.
Many families are living in makeshift shelters, while women often walk several kilometres daily to fetch water.
The growing exodus underscores the wider regional impact of violence in northern Nigeria, where attacks by Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters and criminal gangs have displaced millions of people over the past decade.
Aid agencies have also reported rising malnutrition, respiratory infections and poor sanitation among new arrivals.
Protection concerns are mounting, with only about five per cent of refugees who arrived in Niger this year formally registered, leaving many without the documentation required to access aid and public services.
APC pledges 78,000 additional security personnel
Against this backdrop, the APC has promised to make the protection of lives and property a priority under President Tinubu’s proposed second-term agenda, pledging to recruit 28,000 additional military personnel and 50,000 police officers to strengthen the country’s security architecture.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, who is Deputy Director of the APC Presidential Campaign Council’s Directorate of Manifesto and Policy Development, made the disclosure yesterday in Abuja during the presentation of the party’s manifesto, themed “Transiting from Reforms to Shared Prosperity”.
The party also promised to complete the establishment and equipping of four new Army divisions in Makurdi, Ilorin, Jalingo and Benin City, while sustaining intelligence-led kinetic operations against insurgents and kidnapping networks to dismantle their bases.
To tackle criminal activities in forests, the Tinubu’s administration said it would deploy trained Forest Guards, Agro-Rangers and Mining Marshals to protect agricultural belts, farming communities, grazing routes, national forest reserves and mineral deposits.
Beyond security, the manifesto rests on four pillars: a secure and resilient nation; a better quality and more affordable life for Nigerians; energy, infrastructure and economic growth; and effective and accountable governance.
ADC dismisses Tinubu’s campaign promises
The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC), however, has dismissed Tinubu’s re-election campaign messages as divisive, vague and uninspiring, accusing the President of recycling unfulfilled promises instead of presenting a credible account of his administration’s performance.
In a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Okogbodiyan, the council said Nigerians expected explanations on the administration’s borrowings, the gains from fuel subsidy removal, worsening insecurity, widespread hunger and the escalating cost of living.
It argued that Tinubu’s campaign outings in Kaduna, Rivers and Jigawa states had been dominated by personal attacks and promises that offered nothing new to Nigerians.
The council particularly challenged the President to account for his much-publicised electricity pledge: “If I don’t give you electricity, don’t vote for me for a second term.”
According to the opposition campaign council, millions of Nigerians continue to endure unreliable electricity supply, while the President has reportedly invested in alternative power arrangements for his personal comfort.
It described his renewed electricity promises during the Jigawa campaign as an attempt to repackage old commitments as fresh electoral pledges.
The ADC-PCC also questioned the administration’s mechanised farming agenda, asking what had become of the 2,000 tractors reportedly imported from Brazil several months ago, which it alleged had yet to make any meaningful impact on agricultural productivity.
It further accused Tinubu of taking credit for projects initiated by his predecessor, the late President Muhammadu Buhari, arguing that the administration had little of its own to showcase after nearly three and a half years in office.
The council also alleged that the President had exerted undue influence over the National Assembly and was seeking to compromise the independence of the Judiciary.
Maintaining that Nigerians deserved leadership anchored on accountability, competence and respect for democratic institutions, the ADC-PCC urged the electorate to end APC’s rule in 2027 and vote for the ADC.
Duke warns of national crisis, backs opposition consensus
Similarly, presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has warned that Nigeria risks another civil war if the APC continues what he described as its desperation to retain power through the alleged abuse of state institutions and suppression of opposition parties.
Speaking yesterday at the party’s national retreat for officers and its presidential, governorship and senatorial candidates in Abuja, the former Cross River State governor drew parallels between the country’s current political atmosphere and events preceding the 1966 military intervention and subsequent civil war.
He said the inability of opposition parties to collectively challenge the abuse of state power could push the country towards another national crisis, recalling that the civil war claimed more than three million lives.
Duke accused the APC administration of deploying state institutions, including the courts, to weaken opposition parties, alleging that restrictions on campaign venues, advertising opportunities and political rallies had created an uneven playing field ahead of the 2027 elections.
He also questioned the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), expressing concern over what he described as the revelation of more than 10 million artificial intelligence-generated registered voters.
The PRP candidate called on opposition parties to move beyond individual political ambitions and establish a common front to defend democratic principles.
Speaking later in an interview, Duke said he was willing to step down for another presidential candidate if opposition parties reached a consensus after agreeing on a common vision for the country.
He cautioned against reducing the proposed coalition to negotiations over who would emerge as its presidential candidate, insisting that its priority should be an agreement on the country’s future direction.
Obi demands protection for citizens
Meanwhile, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has called for urgent action to tackle insecurity, insisting that Nigeria cannot make meaningful progress while citizens continue to live in fear.
Obi spoke during a courtesy visit to the Plateau State Traditional Council in Jos, ahead of a town hall meeting as part of his consultations with Nigerians before the 2027 general elections.
He said the consultations were designed to enable him to listen to communities, understand their challenges and develop solutions around their needs.
“When you want to serve, you must listen to the people. When we come for campaigns, we only talk and we don’t listen to the people. We have decided that leadership must be demand-driven,” he said.
Recalling his visits to Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, Mangu and other troubled communities in Plateau State, the former Anambra State governor described the security situation as unacceptable.
He said his presidential ambition was driven by a desire to address the plight of Nigerians, particularly victims of insecurity, displaced persons and families who had lost loved ones to violence.
“If I have one person in an IDP camp, it means we are all in an IDP camp. I am competing because I want to know how we talk to that mother whose child was killed, that husband who lost a wife and that woman who lost a husband. Who is going to listen to their cries?” he asked.
Obi also expressed concern over rising poverty, infant mortality and the growing number of out-of-school children, arguing that investments in education, healthcare and agriculture could help address the challenges.
He stressed that Nigerians should be able to go about their daily activities without fear, with children returning safely from school, farmers from their farms and traders from the markets.
The Guardian
