U.S. Rep. Riley Moore said the White House will soon develop options to protect Christians in Nigeria amid allegations of persecution by Islamist extremists.
Moore said in a post on X on Tuesday that he plans to brief President Donald Trump following a recent fact-finding mission to Nigeria, adding that the administration is treating the claims seriously.
The congressman was responding to testimony by Robert Barron, who told U.S. lawmakers that Christians in Nigeria face what he described as targeted violence. Moore said the briefing would give the White House options for protecting Christians in the country.
“Thank you, Bishop Barron, for shedding light on how our brothers and sisters in Christ are being persecuted for their faith in Nigeria,” Moore wrote. He added that beyond the recently passed fiscal 2026 national security and State Department funding bill, the House Appropriations Committee would soon submit a report to the president outlining facts, oversight findings and recommendations on the situation in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s presidency, however, rejected claims that the country’s insecurity is driven by religion, saying violence affects Nigerians of all faiths and should not be framed as a religious war.
That position was conveyed by Abba Hashim, a senior special assistant to the president, during a meeting with Vincent Onoh as part of ongoing engagements with religious leaders on peace and national unity.
Hashim warned that portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as genocide or faith-based conflict could deepen divisions and undermine national cohesion.
“What’s important now in this country is togetherness,” he said. “We should put everything aside between Muslims, Christians and even people who don’t have a religion. We should not go with the stories going around, which all of us know are false.”
