Open Doors US CEO to Testify Before Congress Nov. 12 on Violence Against Christians in Nigeria
Open Doors US, a U.S.-based ministry supporting persecuted Christians, announced on November 9 that its CEO Ryan Brown will testify on November 12 before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee's Africa Subcommittee, urging sustained international attention and practical steps to protect Christian communities facing violence and displacement in Nigeria's Middle Belt. The hearing will examine Nigeria's response to ongoing insecurity.
In his prepared testimony, Brown will describe how attacks on villages, abductions, destruction of farmland and repeated displacement have affected Christian communities. He said Open Doors does not argue that every act of violence in Nigeria is exclusively motivated by religion, but that any serious assessment must acknowledge religious identity as an important vulnerability factor for many victims and communities. The testimony notes that Nigeria's security crisis stems from multiple overlapping factors, identifies militant members of the Fulani people as a major source of violence in the Middle Belt, distinct from the broader Fulani population, and acknowledges recent Nigerian efforts to improve protection and support the safe return of displaced families, while calling for sustained monitoring.
According to data from the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, approximately 10,928 Christian civilians and 1,919 Muslim civilians were killed in Nigeria's North Central region between October 2019 and September 2025, and more than 4,700 Christians and 3,650 Muslims were abducted during the same period.
Brown will urge governments, international partners and humanitarian organizations to take three steps: strengthen security and early-warning systems by improving communication between communities and security forces and increasing accountability; promote religious literacy in humanitarian response to prevent discrimination; and include local faith leaders and organizations in planning, coordinating and evaluating relief efforts. In his written testimony he said the international community cannot solve Nigeria's challenges but can stand with vulnerable communities and support effective, impartial humanitarian responses.
Open Doors supports persecuted Christians in more than 70 countries and is best known for its annual World Watch List. Its Arise Africa petition aims to gather one million signatures worldwide to present to the United Nations this December.
(Source: Open Doors US)
Source: Open Doors US
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：尼日利亚首都 Abuja 的国民议会大楼与权杖雕塑（资料图）。Kabusa16 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The National Assembly building and Mace sculpture in Abuja, Nigeria (file photo). By Kabusa16, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
