A United States lawmaker, Rep. Riley Moore, has raised serious concerns about violence against Christian communities in Nigeria, claiming that Fulani militants and other armed groups are attacking Christians even within Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, particularly in Benue State.
Moore, who led a five‑member US congressional delegation on a fact‑finding mission to Nigeria, told Fox News that the violence against Christians seeking refuge is shocking and deeply troubling. He alleged that assailants, whom he described as “Islamic radicals,” have repeatedly struck at displaced persons, burning churches and assaulting IDP camps — sometimes shouting “Allahu Akbar” during the attacks.
The delegation’s visit to Benue State, one of the regions hardest hit by communal and militant violence, saw Moore meet with hundreds of displaced Christians living in camps after fleeing attacks in their home communities. According to him, more than 600,000 Christians now inhabit IDP camps across the state alone, driven from their ancestral lands by relentless violence he described as tantamount to “genocidal” persecution.
Moore recounted several harrowing personal stories from survivors, including testimonies of families murdered before the eyes of loved ones and accounts of women who watched their entire families killed before escaping to camps. He said the emotional impact of what he witnessed will “stay with me the rest of my life.”
His statements underscore growing international attention to the crisis affecting Christian and other vulnerable communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, and the ongoing debate about the nature and drivers of the violence confronting the region.
