US Congressman Riley Moore has alleged that Fulani militants are the leading perpetrators of violence against Christians in Nigeria, while calling for renewed US efforts to address insecurity in the country’s Middle Belt.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Moore said he had been investigating what he described as the genocide of Christians in Nigeria.
“As I have been saying since I started investigating the genocide against Christians in Nigeria, Fulani militants are by far the largest perpetrators of violence against Christians in Nigeria,” he wrote.
The lawmaker commended the Trump administration for its efforts against Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), two terrorist groups responsible for a prolonged insurgency in Nigeria’s North-East.
“The Trump Administration has made historic progress against Boko Haram and ISWAP,” Moore said. “But we must also stop the killing in the Middle Belt at the hands of the Fulani if we want to ensure our brothers and sisters in Christ are safe to live and worship without being murdered.”
Nigeria’s Middle Belt has experienced recurring violence involving farming and herding communities, as well as attacks that Christian organisations and some human rights groups say have disproportionately affected Christian populations.
Moore’s remarks come amid growing attention in the US Congress to issues of religious freedom and security in Nigeria. Successive US administrations have designated Boko Haram and ISWAP as terrorist organisations and have provided Nigeria with security and humanitarian support.
The Federal Government, however, has consistently maintained that the violence in the Middle Belt is driven by criminality, banditry, communal disputes and competition over resources, rather than religious persecution. It has also rejected allegations that a genocide is taking place in the region.
