A U.S. lawmaker has opposed efforts to lift Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), arguing that the country should continue to face scrutiny over religious freedom and related concerns.
Congressman Riley M. Moore
United States Congressman Riley Moore has said the U.S. Department of State cannot lift Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern over continued attacks on Christians in the country’s Middle Belt.
Moore, a Republican representing West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, stated this on Tuesday in a post on his X handle.
He was reacting to 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 occur.
“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.”
The statement followed an attack on the Bin-Per community in Ruff, Kombun District of Mangu Local Government Area between Monday midnight and Tuesday, where 24 people were killed by gunmen.
The victims were given a mass burial in the community on Tuesday, while other victims who sustained injuries were receiving treatment in hospitals.
Women from the community also staged a peaceful protest, marching with leaves in their hands and calling for urgent government action to protect their lives and communities.
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!!”
Nigeria was designated a CPC in 2020 under the President Donald Trump administration for severe religious-freedom violations and removed from the designation under the Biden administration in 2021.
Trump redesignated Nigeria as a CPC on October 31, 2025.
Moore has been a congressional voice pressing for the designation and stronger measures to address violence against Christians.
In November 2025, he introduced a House resolution condemning the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
