United States lawmakers have criticised the Federal Government’s reported $9m lobbying contract in Washington, warning that the move appeared aimed at downplaying serious human rights and religious freedom violations in Nigeria.
The criticism was voiced on Wednesday during a joint hearing of the House Subcommittee on Africa and the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, titled “Defending Religious Freedom Around the World.” The session was monitored by Saturday PUNCH.
Testimony at the hearing was provided by former US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback, and a former chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Dr Stephen Schneck.
Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee, Rep Chris Smith, defended the October 2025 decision to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act, describing the move as “long overdue” after years of deadly violence against Christian communities.
Smith expressed concern over efforts to counter the designation through lobbying in Washington, revealing that Nigeria had hired US lobbying firm, DCI Group, for $9m, amounting to about $750,000 monthly.
“I just want to say to my colleagues that I am deeply concerned that Nigeria has hired the lobbying firm, DCI Group, to the tune of $9m,” Smith said.
“And a Nigerian billionaire has entered into a $120,000-a-month contract with Washington-based consulting firm Valcour, to influence Congress and the Executive Branch.”
According to him, the lobbying efforts were being used to circulate “very well-written talking points” aimed at portraying the situation as normal, despite persistent religious freedom concerns.
While Smith argued that the CPC designation was necessary pressure on Nigeria, the Ranking Member of the subcommittee, Rep Sara Jacobs, faulted what she described as an overly narrow focus on Christian persecution.
Jacobs noted that despite expressed concern about religious violence, the US had cut hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign assistance to Nigeria, including programmes supporting faith leaders and conflict-affected communities.
She cited the termination of the Community Initiatives to Promote Peace programme, which she said had helped reduce violence in some parts of the country.
“Despite the administration’s apparent interest in addressing conflict and religious tensions in Nigeria, it has cut hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign assistance to Nigeria, including assistance to faith leaders and to communities experiencing violence in the Middle Belt,” Jacobs said.
She cautioned against framing Nigeria’s crisis solely in religious terms, stressing that the violence affects both Christians and Muslims and is driven by multiple factors.
“The violence in Nigeria is complex, and the drivers of this violence are multifaceted and cannot be reduced to a single framing,” she said, warning that oversimplified narratives could inflame tensions.
Jacobs also questioned the effectiveness of recent US military action in Sokoto State, noting that airstrikes ordered over Christmas had not materially helped affected communities.
Supporting this view, former USCIRF chair Schneck said the cost of the military strikes likely exceeded funding previously allocated to interfaith and humanitarian programmes, warning that such actions could strengthen militant groups.
“It occurs to me that the cost of the Tomahawk missiles that were sent probably exceeded the amount of money that had previously been going to Nigeria to improve interfaith relations and provide humanitarian assistance,” Schneck said, describing the strikes as a mistake.
Testifying on Nigeria’s broader security challenges, Schneck said the crisis was driven by a mix of Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorism, farmer-herder conflicts, banditry, organised crime, mass displacement, and what he described as “a corrupt and frankly, a failing government” unable to provide basic security and justice.
Lawmakers also debated whether the CPC designation alone was effective. Rep Jefferson Shreve questioned its impact, prompting Brownback to argue that the label must be backed by sanctions and concrete measures.
“Until you put some bite into it, most of these dictators are just going to thumb their nose at you,” Brownback said, advocating Magnitsky sanctions and targeted economic penalties.
Although Rep Bill Huizenga said recent US actions had helped refocus attention on Nigeria, Brownback expressed deep mistrust of the Federal Government, accusing it of abandoning power-sharing traditions and failing to protect vulnerable communities.
“This government has not given us any reason to trust them,” he said.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that Christians in Nigeria were facing genocide and had previously threatened military action. However, the Federal Government rejected those claims, insisting that while Nigeria faces serious security challenges, there is no genocide.
Despite the tensions, the US Africa Command, working with President Bola Tinubu’s administration, carried out airstrikes on December 25 against terrorist targets in Sokoto State.
In January, documents revealed that the Federal Government entered into a $9m contract with US-based lobbying firm DCI Group to communicate Nigeria’s efforts to protect Christians to the US government. Filings with the US Department of Justice showed that Kaduna-based Aster Legal retained DCI Group on behalf of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, with the agreement signed on December 17, 2025.
Separately, documents seen this month revealed that billionaire Matthew Tonlagha signed a $120,000-a-month contract with lobbying firm Valcour to influence US media, Congress and the Trump administration for six months to strengthen US–Nigeria relations.
Valcour was founded in 2023 by Matt Mowers, a former State Department adviser during Trump’s first term. Tonlagha is the vice-president of Tantita Security Services, an oil infrastructure protection firm owned by a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Oweizidei Ekpemupolo.
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