A member of the United States Congress, Riley M. Moore, has strongly criticised the Nigerian Government over its inability to protect citizens following renewed killings in Plateau State.
Moore, in a statement reacting to recent attacks in Plateau communities, accused the Federal Government of failing to act decisively against terrorism and violent attacks targeting Christians in the country’s Middle Belt region.
According to the congressman, the Nigerian Government had previously demonstrated its capacity to respond swiftly to security threats beyond its borders, citing Nigeria’s intervention in the attempted coup in Benin, but questioned why similar urgency had not been deployed to protect vulnerable communities at home.
He described the latest killings in Plateau State as “horrific,” alleging that Christians who gathered for a mass burial for victims of earlier attacks were themselves attacked and murdered by what he termed “radical Islamic terrorists.”
Moore further alleged that authorities received early warnings about the attacks but failed to prevent the violence, resulting in the deaths of innocent civilians.
“The Nigerian Government could root out the terrorism and stop the martyrdom of its own citizens,” he stated, adding that Christians in the region were being “murdered for their faith.”
The US lawmaker called on the administration of former US President Donald Trump to take stronger measures in addressing insecurity affecting Christian communities in Nigeria.
He noted that protecting Christians in Nigeria had been identified in the US Counterterrorism Strategy and urged Washington to take “forceful action” to defend vulnerable communities in the country’s Middle Belt, which he described as the epicentre of an ongoing genocide against Christians.
The recent attacks in Plateau State have continued to attract international condemnation, with growing concerns over persistent violence, killings, and displacement of residents in affected communities.
