By BONIFACE AKARAH

United States policy toward Nigeria’s worsening security and religious freedom crisis is set to come under fresh scrutiny as the Hudson Institute and the Ben Franklin Fellowship host a high-level discussion in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

The August 28 event, titled “Nigeria’s Crisis: Islamist Terrorists, Violent Nomadic Herders, ‘Bandit’ Gangs, and the US Foreign Policy Response,” will examine the security crisis, attacks on Christians and possible policy responses by the United States.

According to the organisers, the two-panel discussion will focus on the current security situation in Nigeria, the country’s 2027 elections and possible considerations for US policymakers, while the second panel will examine policies for addressing militia attacks targeting Christians.

The event comes after US President Donald Trump designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act on October 31, 2025, citing what the US described as Nigeria having “engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”

The Hudson Institute said the discussion would examine the crisis at a time when attacks on Christians have continued to attract international attention.

“More Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country in the world,” the organisers said in announcing the event.

The first panel is expected to consider the broader state of play in Nigeria, including the political environment ahead of the 2027 national elections and issues that could influence Washington’s policy toward Abuja.

Speakers scheduled for the event include Hudson Institute Senior Fellows Matthew Boyse, Joshua Meservey and Nina Shea, as well as Greg Simpkins, a former staff director of the US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa.

Other participants include Rev. Fr. Remigius Ihyula, former Director of the Catholic Makurdi Diocese Commission on Justice, Development and Peace in Benue State; Ambassador Tibor Nagy, former US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs and former US Ambassador to Guinea; Emmanuel Ogebe, a Nigerian-American human rights attorney; and Judd Saul, Director of Equipping the Persecuted.

The organisers said the second panel would focus specifically on policies that could address militia attacks against Christians, suggesting that the religious dimension of Nigeria’s security crisis will form a major part of the discussion.

The event is also expected to provide an opportunity for participants to assess the effectiveness of existing US policy and consider what further measures Washington could adopt in response to violence and religious persecution in Nigeria.

The discussion is particularly significant as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections, with the organisers indicating that the political transition will form part of the conversation on US policy.

The event will hold from 1pm to 3pm on Friday, August 28, 2026, in Washington, D.C., and is restricted to invited participants.

The discussion could add a new dimension to the international debate over Nigeria’s security crisis, particularly as Washington weighs religious freedom, civilian protection, counterterrorism and Nigeria’s political trajectory ahead of the 2027 elections.