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Lawmakers in the United States have introduced a bill aimed at addressing religious persecution in Nigeria and increasing oversight of the Nigerian government’s response in safeguarding vulnerable groups, particularly Christians.
The proposed law, called the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 (HR 7457), was put forward by Riley Moore and Chris Smith, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, according to a press release posted by Moore on Tuesday.
The bill would require the U.S. Secretary of State to submit to Congress “a comprehensive report on U.S. efforts to address the ongoing religious persecution and mass atrocities against Christians in Nigeria.”
The bill, if passed, would require the State Department to evaluate Nigeria’s compliance with the International Religious Freedom Act, including actions taken to prevent persecution, prosecute perpetrators, repeal blasphemy laws, and protect vulnerable communities.
It would also require “identification of all individuals and entities sanctioned, or under consideration for sanction, under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act or the Entities of Particular Concern list.”
The report would also require a “description of co-investments and collaborative efforts between the governments of Nigeria and the U.S. to provide and deliver humanitarian assistance to Christians displaced by the attacks from Fulani ethnic militias, through faith-based or nongovernmental partners, including amounts, recipients, type of assistance provided, and measurable outcomes.”
In addition, the report would require an evaluation of past, current, and planned U.S. security assistance to Nigeria, including whether such assistance risks enabling or worsening religious persecution.
It would also call for “an investigation into whether the Nigerian government is taking appropriate steps to cease enforcement of blasphemy laws and to look into instances of non-Muslims, Muslims, and dissenters being subjected to Sharia law or blasphemy laws.”
The bill would also require an “assessment of conditions for internally displaced persons, including safety, humanitarian needs, and prospects for return,” and “recommendations for further executive actions or congressional authority deemed necessary and most helpful to halt the religious persecution and mass atrocities occurring in Nigeria.”
It would include an evaluation of any steps taken by the Government of Nigeria during the reporting period to address religious persecution, dismantle extremist networks, prosecute attackers, reform security forces, or improve protection for at-risk communities.
“For years, Christians in Nigeria have faced unspeakable violence—churches burned, villages destroyed, families slaughtered—while the global community looked away,” Moore said.
“That is why I am proud to introduce the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 with Representative Chris Smith. This legislation makes clear that the United States stands with our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ and seeks to help Nigeria address its many challenges,” he added.
Moore also said, “I applaud the Nigerian government for working in coordination and cooperation with the Trump Administration to address the security challenges throughout the country. I stand ready to continue working to deepen and strengthen our relationship with Nigeria, as we work to save Christian lives.”
Meanwhile, Smith, who has chaired 13 congressional hearings on the religious persecution crisis in Nigeria, said, “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.”
He added that after President Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as 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.”
“Inaction on the parts of both the Nigerian and U.S. governments only emboldens these radical Islamist thugs to inflict even more misery, suffering, and death upon Christians and non-radical Muslims in Nigeria,” Smith said.
