United States Congressman Riley Moore has firmly opposed removing Nigeria from the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) designation list, insisting the President Bola Tinubu administration has not done enough to halt the violent targeting of Christian communities.
He maintained that the designation is warranted due to ongoing violence and continued attacks on Christians in the country’s Middle Belt.
His reaction, via a post on X on Wednesday, followed the latest attack in Plateau State, where gunmen killed at least 24 people in a community in Mangu Local Government Area.
“This is exactly why the @StateDept cannot lift Nigeria’s CPC designation,” Moore said.
“Christians are being slaughtered across the Middle Belt with impunity. There may be progress in the north, but nothing has changed in the Middle Belt where most attacks against Christians ocour
“We cannot make the same mistake the Biden Administration made. Biden removed the CPC designation from Nigeria after President Trump’s first term and all hell broke loose on Christians. We must stop the genocide.”Nigerian news updates
Locals in the affected Plateau communities had said the attackers stormed the villages late at night and opened fire on residents sleeping in their homes, leaving many families displaced and mourning.
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Community leaders described the assault as “barbaric and senseless,” and appealed to both the state and federal governments to deploy more security personnel to protect rural communities that they say have been repeatedly targeted.
Meanwhile, Moore also quoted a statement by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker on recent U.S.-Nigeria talks.
Hooker had noted that she had hosted Nigerian National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, in Washington for the second session of the U.S.-Nigeria Joint Working Group.
The U.S., she said, remained committed to safeguarding Christian communities and identified concrete steps to protect those facing violence, while pledging to hold countries accountable for ensuring Christians can practise their faith free from threat or persecution.
However, quoting Hooker, Moore said, “DO NOT remove the CPC designation for Nigeria. They have not done near enough to protect Christians! They continue to get slaughtered!!”
This signaled renewed pressure from US lawmakers for the Trump’s administration not to reconsider Nigeria’s status amid persistent attacks in Plateau, Benue and other parts of the Middle Belt.
The Nigerian government has repeatedly denied any religious targeting in the conflicts, describing them largely as clashes over land, resources and criminality.
The US designated Nigeria as a CPC in 2020 under the International Religious Freedom Act, a tag given to countries deemed to have engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.
Nigeria was removed from the list in 2021, but has remained under close monitoring by the US State Department.
The Trump administration returned Nigeria to the list last year and since then the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group meeting referenced by the Bureau has met twice to review progress made since the designation and to determine the effectiveness of actions being taken by Abuja to address concerns raised by Washington.
The CPC designation is reviewed annually by the State Department and is scheduled for review in November
Eagle Online
