Riley Moore, a member of the U.S. Congress, has called President Bola Tinubu’s denial of the intentional massacre of Christians “completely false.”
Moore added that Tinubu’s denial was to “protect his interests.” He also said that Nigeria’s political leaders were “complicit” in the deaths of Christians.
Moore talked on Tinubu’s statement in an appearance with Fox News on Sunday. He said that the idea that Nigeria is religiously intolerant is wrong.
The Guardian says that the Congress will talk about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria on Thursday.
This came after the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule (Intersociety) made new claims that 99 Christians were killed in Nigeria in just 14 days.
“Sadly, that’s not true at all. Some states in Nigeria have laws against blasphemy. The U.S. lawmaker added, “People are facing the death penalty for blasphemy against Islam.”
“I know that President Tinubu is in a tough spot and is doing his best to look out for his own interests in the country.” But for a statement like this, they are at least somewhat responsible.
Moore referenced the story of an Adamawa Christian farmer, Sunday Jackson, who was sentenced to death for defending himself against a murderer Fulani herdsman.
“There is serious persecution in Nigeria,” Moore remarked.
The United States Congress will hold a hearing on Thursday to look into claims that Christians in Nigeria are being persecuted on a large scale. This comes after President Donald Trump recently reclassified Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
Congressman Chris Smith, who is the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and a staunch supporter of stronger U.S. action against reported religious violence in Nigeria, will lead the session.
Smith had already put forward a legislative resolution that named the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as responsible for a number of attacks. The resolution suggests that members of the groups should not be allowed to enter the country and have their assets frozen.
The letter also asked the White House to include the “Fulani-Ethnic Militias” that are active in states like Benue and Plateau under the Entities of Particular Concern (EPC) framework set up under the International Religious Freedom Act.
Jonathan Pratt, a senior official at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, and Jacob McGee, a deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, are also set to testify.
Nina Shea, senior fellow and director at the Centre for Religious Freedom; Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Makurdi Catholic Diocese; and Oge Onubogu, director and senior fellow for the Africa Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies are all set to be on the second panel.
In a statement Wednesday, INTERSOCIETY said that 99 Christians had been killed in the last two weeks.
It said that the murder happened between October 28 and November 11, and that the organization that did it, known as Jihadist extremists, also kidnapped 114 other people.
Emeka Umeagbalasi, the Head of Intersociety, and two human rights lawyers, Joy Igboeli and Ogochukwu Obi, all signed the report.
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