A member of the United States House of Representatives, Rep. Riley M. Moore, has urged former President Donald Trump and the U.S. government to take urgent action over what he described as an ongoing “Christian genocide” in Nigeria.

In a letter dated October 6, 2025, and addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Moore called for the immediate designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), citing persistent attacks on Christians across the country.

The West Virginia lawmaker also demanded that the U.S. government halt all arms sales and technical support to Nigeria until the Nigerian authorities demonstrate “sufficient commitment to ending the reign of persecution and slaughter.”

According to Moore, no fewer than 7,000 Christians were “gruesomely murdered” between January and September 2025 by what he called Muslim extremist groups.

He further alleged that 250 Catholic priests had been attacked or killed since 2015 and that between 2009 and 2025, at least 19,100 churches in Nigeria had been attacked or destroyed.

“The United States cannot remain silent in the face of such barbarity.

Our continued military cooperation with the Nigerian government must depend on its willingness to protect Christian lives and prosecute perpetrators,” Moore wrote.

During his first tenure, former President Donald Trump had designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, a move reversed by his successor, former President Joe Biden.

Recently, several prominent U.S. figures,  including Senator Ted Cruz, television host Bill Maher, and political analyst Van Jones, have accused the Nigerian government of allowing what they termed a “Christian genocide.”

Senator Cruz, speaking during a podcast with Maher, claimed that Christians in Nigeria were being “systematically targeted and killed,” describing the situation as “genocide.”

However, the Federal Government of Nigeria has strongly dismissed these allegations.

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, described the claims as false and inciting, insisting that the nation’s security challenges are not religiously motivated.

“These foreign commentators are orchestrating wild allegations about an unproven ongoing genocide.

They are attempting to robe Nigeria with a garment that is not hers,” Dare stated.

He maintained that the Tinubu administration remains committed to ensuring national security, interfaith harmony, and equal protection for all Nigerians, regardless of religion or ethnicity.

The renewed U.S. debate over Nigeria’s human rights record comes amid heightened insecurity across several northern states, where communities continue to face attacks from terrorist and bandit groups.