A United States Congressman, Riley Moore, has expressed concern over rising threats against Christians in Nigeria, describing recent developments as clear evidence of religious persecution.
Naijaonpoint reports that Moore made the comments in a post on 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) on Thursday night, referencing a viral report linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which allegedly declared all Christians in Nigeria as legitimate targets.
“If there were any remaining doubts that Christians in Nigeria are being targeted for their faith in Jesus Christ, this should end that debate.
“This isn’t about land usage, ‘climate change,’ or any other argument the Left wants to make. This is persecution of our brothers and sisters for their faith in Christ, plain and simple,” Moore wrote.
The lawmaker was responding to widely shared posts claiming that ISWAP released an image of a burning Christian village in Adamawa State, alongside a statement urging Christians to convert to Islam or pay the jizyah tax to avoid bloodshed.
“ISIS is telling Christians they have an opportunity to ‘spare their blood’ if they convert. Our brothers and sisters will not bend the knee to anyone but our Lord and Savior though,” Moore added.
The alarm comes just days after the United States conducted airstrikes on terrorist enclaves in Sokoto State. The operation, ordered by former US President Donald Trump, was described as a response to escalating attacks on Christians in Nigeria.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS terrorist scum in Northwest Nigeria.
“I have previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” Trump wrote last week.
On Friday, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the strikes, noting they were part of structured security cooperation between Nigeria and international allies.
In a separate statement, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the operation targeted “two major Islamic State terrorist enclaves located within the Bauni forest axis of Tangaza Local Government Area, Sokoto State.”
“Intelligence confirmed that these locations were being used as assembly and staging grounds by foreign ISIS elements infiltrating Nigeria from the Sahel region,” the statement added.
The strikes, conducted between 12:12 am and 1:30 am on December 26, used MQ-9 Reaper drones launched from maritime positions in the Gulf of Guinea. Sixteen GPS-guided munitions were reportedly deployed.
Authorities confirmed that debris from the strike fell in parts of Sokoto and Kwara states, but no civilian casualties were recorded.