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The U.S. House Appropriations Committee will hold a joint congressional briefing on Tuesday to examine allegations of widespread persecution of Christians in Nigeria, the panel said in a statement posted on X.

The closed-door roundtable will feature Mario Diaz-Balart, the committee’s vice chair and head of its national security subcommittee, alongside other appropriators and lawmakers from the House Foreign Affairs and Financial Services committees. Representatives from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and other experts are also expected to participate.

According to the committee, the session will gather testimony to support a comprehensive report ordered by President Donald Trump on violence against Nigerian Christians and potential legislative steps to bolster White House efforts to protect religious minorities worldwide.

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Rep. Riley Moore, who has been involved in the committee’s probe, said Trump directed him and House appropriators to investigate the situation. Moore posted his own notice on X, describing the briefing as a major step in the inquiry.

“We will never turn a blind eye to our brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer for their faith,” Moore wrote, adding that he would speak at the roundtable as an expert witness.

The planned briefing also comes as Washington intensifies its focus on Nigeria’s security landscape. In November, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu approved the composition of Nigeria’s delegation to a U.S.–Nigeria joint working group aimed at strengthening cooperation on counterterrorism and internal security. The move followed high-level talks in Washington led by Nigeria’s national security adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

Oluwatosin Ogunjuyigbe is a writer and journalist who covers business, finance, technology, and the changing forces shaping Nigeria’s economy. He focuses on turning complex ideas into clear, compelling stories.

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