A survivor of the Yelwata massacre in Benue State on Thursday gave an emotional testimony before the US House Subcommittee on Africa which sat to examine Nigeria’s designation as a “country of particular concern”.
She recounted how she escaped a night of terror that claimed the lives of her family members and neighbours.
She appeared via video from Nigeria and spoke in her local dialect, while Reverend Father Philip Apo of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi translated her account for lawmakers.
She told the committee she had fled into the darkness as armed men overran her community and that she had been forced to leave loved ones behind who were later killed.
Her testimony opened the hearing, which was convened to review President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern.”
Members referenced the Yelwata killings, in which more than 100 villagers reportedly died, as they weighed the scale of violence in the country.
Nina Shea, senior fellow and director at the Center for Religious Freedom, Hudson Institute, told the committee that Nigerians had become one of the most successful immigrant groups in the United States and framed that success as part of the wider context for assessing religious freedom concerns.
Oge Onubogu of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies cautioned lawmakers that narratives focusing only on killings of Christians risked oversimplifying Nigeria’s insecurity.
She warned that unilateral US military action could endanger the very communities Washington intended to protect.
On his part, representative Riley Moore reported widespread distrust of the Nigerian government and urged closer cooperation between the United States and Abuja on insecurity.
He also suggested that Nigerian authorities consider pardoning Sunday Jackson, a man in prison facing the death penalty after actions taken in self-defence during communal violence.
Representative Johnny Olszewski said he was troubled by the state of religious freedom in Nigeria and described violence against Christians there as a serious issue requiring attention from US policymakers.
Also speaking, representative Pramila Jayapal told the committee that the killings in Nigeria affected multiple groups and that policymakers should avoid portraying the violence as solely the prosecution of Christians.
Chaired by Representative Chris Smith, the session featured two witness panels that included senior State Department officials and Nigerian faith leaders.
Panelists assessed patterns of violence across Nigeria and outlined a range of possible US responses, from humanitarian assistance to targeted sanctions and deeper diplomatic engagement.
Lawmakers concluded the survivor’s testimony brought a human face to the debate over how Washington should respond.
Watch testimony below
