Amid rising studies of violence towards Christians in Nigeria, US Congressman Riley Moore, the Republican consultant for the state of West Virginia, referred to as for pressing diplomatic motion in response to reported violence towards Christians in Nigeria.motion in a put up on X (previously Twitter) accompanied by a clip of his Fox Enterprise interview, the place he claimed ongoing persecution and referred to as for Nigeria to be restored as a Nation of Explicit Concern (CPC) to deal with what he described as killings and assaults on church buildings.
Riley Moore’s X put up and Fox Enterprise interview
On October 20, 2025, Congressman Moore posted on X“Christians are being persecuted and killed in Nigeria for professing their religion in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The killings should cease. That’s why I’m urging @SecRubio to designate Nigeria as a Nation of Explicit Concern. We should use each diplomatic instrument to finish this horrific slaughter of our brothers and sisters in Christ.” The X put up was accompanied by a clip of Moore’s look on the Fox Enterprise present with Stuart Varney, the place he elaborated on the factors made in his put up. Within the interview, Moore described Nigeria because the deadliest place on this planet for Christians, citing 1000’s of deaths and a whole bunch extra kidnapped, tortured, or displaced by extremist teams corresponding to Boko Haram and its splinter faction, ISWAP. He burdened that restoring Nigeria’s designation as a Nation of Explicit Concern would give the US the diplomatic instruments essential to stress the Nigerian authorities to take decisive motion towards these assaults.
Riley Moore’s letter to Secretary Rubio and the case for CPC designation
On October 5, 2025, Congressman Riley Moore despatched a proper letter to Secretary Rubio requesting that Nigeria be redesignated as a CPC below the Worldwide Non secular Freedom Act. In keeping with Moore’s press launch dated October 6, the enchantment is grounded within the “alarming and ongoing persecution of Christians throughout the nation.” Moore’s letter highlighted that over 7,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria in 2025 alone, averaging 35 deaths per day. He emphasised that a whole bunch extra have been kidnapped, tortured, or displaced by extremist teams corresponding to Boko Haram and its splinter faction, ISWAP. Moore referenced Open Doorways studies, noting that extra Christians are killed in Nigeria every year than in the remainder of the world mixed, and acknowledged that 19,100 Christian church buildings have been attacked or destroyed since 2009. He additionally referred to as consideration to prior US coverage: Nigeria had been designated a CPC below President Trump, however this designation was eliminated throughout the Biden administration. Moore urged the Trump administration to revive the designation and droop all US arms gross sales and technical help to Nigeria till efficient measures are taken to guard the persecuted inhabitants.In his assertion, Moore stated:“Nigeria has turn into the deadliest place on this planet to be a Christian. Simply this yr, a priest was kidnapped and murdered on Ash Wednesday and 54 Christians had been martyred on Palm Sunday. 7,000 Christians have been martyred this yr alone. Greater than 50,000 Christians have been murdered since 2009.America can’t stand idly by whereas believers are slaughtered. We should acknowledge the spiritual nature of this scourge of anti-Christian violence from radical Islamic terrorists. It’s time for the US to defend our brothers and sisters in Christ, and designating Nigeria as a Nation of Explicit Concern will present the diplomatic levers to do exactly that. I urge Secretary Rubio to designate Nigeria as a CPC immediately.”
US political voices echoing considerations
Amongst US political figures elevating alarms in regards to the state of affairs, Senator Ted Cruz, a member of the Republican Celebration representing the state of Texas, has been notably vocal in highlighting reported violence towards Christians in Nigeria. In a current put up on X (previously Twitter), Cruz claimed that fifty,000 Christians have been killed since 2009, with 2,000 faculties and 18,000 church buildings destroyed by Islamist armed teams, although he didn’t cite his sources.In September, Cruz launched what he referred to as the Nigeria Non secular Freedom Accountability Act of 2025, which, he stated, goals to carry officers who “facilitate Islamic Jihadist violence and the imposition of blasphemy legal guidelines” accountable. The invoice’s primary targets, in accordance with Cruz, embody:
- Holding Nigerian officers accountable for facilitating violence towards Christians.
- Designating Nigeria as a Nation of Explicit Concern (CPC).
- Classifying Boko Haram and its splinter faction, the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP), as “entities of explicit concern.”
- Focusing on officers who implement Islamic and blasphemy legal guidelines that contribute to persecution.
Cruz emphasised that the killings are the results of choices made by particular officers at particular occasions, reflecting systemic failures in defending civilians. It’s value noting that the US designated Boko Haram as a “international terrorist organisation” in 2013.Different public commentators have amplified comparable considerations. HBO host Invoice Maher, on Actual Time With Invoice Maher, referenced Boko Haram’s assaults, claiming over 100,000 Christians killed since 2009 and 18,000 church buildings burned, although he acknowledged he isn’t a Christian. Maher acknowledged:“I’m not a Christian, however they’re systematically killing the Christians in Nigeria. They’ve killed over 100,000 since 2009. They’ve burned 18,000 church buildings. … They [Boko Haram] are actually making an attempt to wipe out the Christian inhabitants of a complete nation.”
Nigeria’s safety context and authorities response
Whereas acknowledging the complexity and the continuing safety challenges, Nigerian authorities have cautioned towards portraying the violence as focusing on a single spiritual group.In keeping with Al Jazeera, Nigeria’s Info Minister, Mohammed Idris Malagi, issued a press release in response to Invoice Maher’s feedback, describing current US commentary as “overly simplistic” and warning towards framing the violence as focusing on solely Christians. He stated:“Portraying Nigeria’s safety challenges as a focused marketing campaign towards a single spiritual group is a gross misrepresentation of actuality. Whereas Nigeria, like many international locations, has confronted safety challenges, together with acts of terrorism perpetrated by criminals, couching the state of affairs as a deliberate, systematic assault on Christians is inaccurate and dangerous. It oversimplifies a posh, multifaceted safety setting and performs into the arms of terrorists and criminals who search to divide Nigerians alongside spiritual or ethnic traces.”Key components contributing to Nigeria’s ongoing safety challenges embody the Boko Haram insurgency within the northeast, in addition to actions by legal gangs and communal violence in central and northwest states. Since President Bola Tinubu took workplace in Might 2023, over 3 million folks have been displaced, and Amnesty Worldwide studies that just about 10,000 folks, together with kids, have been killed, notably in Benue and Plateau states. The Christian Affiliation of Nigeria has additionally famous that some international reporting could oversimplify the state of affairs, portraying the violence as solely anti-Christian, whereas the truth displays a multifaceted and complicated safety setting.
Human affect and worldwide consideration
The human toll of Nigeria’s safety disaster is extreme. Assaults in areas corresponding to Yelwata, Benue State, have pressured households to flee after gunmen massacres, whereas extremists routinely destroy infrastructure, together with faculties, clinics, grain reserves, locations of worship, and boreholes, worsening humanitarian situations. Analysts have famous that bandits are more and more cooperating with ideological armed teams looking for to develop their territory, making the crises extra fluid and overlapping. Nigeria’s safety equipment is reportedly overwhelmed and struggles to collect satisfactory intelligence to know the extent of those collaborations and reply successfully. US lawmakers argue that designating Nigeria as a Nation of Explicit Concern might present diplomatic leverage to encourage accountability and safety for affected communities, elevating broader questions in regards to the position of US international coverage in addressing human rights and spiritual freedom violations.
