US House Approves Bill That Could Block All Aid to Nigeria Over Anti-Christian Violence

Nigeria could lose access to all United States economic and security assistance after the US House of Representatives approved legislation that would make future funding conditional on measurable progress in tackling anti-Christian violence.

The proposed measure, which still requires approval by the US Senate, represents a significant escalation in Washington’s scrutiny of Nigeria’s handling of religiously motivated violence and insecurity.

The development comes only days after the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Frank Garcia, concluded his first official visit to Africa with meetings in Abuja. Garcia described his engagements with Nigeria’s security chiefs and senior government officials as productive, signalling the Trump administration’s desire to strengthen bilateral security cooperation.

However, the latest action by the House of Representatives underscores growing pressure from Republican lawmakers, who are calling for stricter measures over the Nigerian government’s response to violence affecting Christian communities.

Under the amendment, the US Secretary of State would be required to certify that Nigeria is making measurable progress in addressing anti-Christian violence before any American economic or security assistance can be released. The amendment goes further than an earlier proposal, which sought to withhold only half of the available funding.

The legislation will now move to the Senate for consideration.

Chairman of the Senate Africa Subcommittee, Senator Ted Cruz, supported the measure, alleging that Nigerian authorities have created conditions that enable widespread violence against Christians and other religious minorities.

The amendment’s sponsor, Republican Congressman Greg Steube, argued that releasing American assistance without clear evidence of progress would send the wrong message.

“If the aid conditions included in the bill are important enough to withhold half of all the funding to the Nigerian government, then they are important enough to withhold all of the funding,” Steube said.

The Nigerian government has consistently rejected allegations that Christians are being deliberately targeted in the country’s security challenges, maintaining that insurgency, banditry and communal conflicts affect people of different religious and ethnic backgrounds.

If eventually approved by the Senate and signed into law, the measure could significantly affect future US support for Nigeria’s security operations and development programmes, while adding fresh diplomatic pressure on Abuja to demonstrate progress in addressing insecurity.