Rep. Moore says military action possible over Christian killings in Nigeria

Republican Rep. Riley Moore said the United States could take a range of measures — including sanctions and “even kinetic military action” — in response to what he called the “genocide” of Christians in Nigeria.

Trump appointed Moore, a member of the Appropriations Committee from West Virginia, along with Committee Chairman Tom Cole, Republican from Oklahoma, to lead the investigation into this case. Killing Christians By Islamic extremists in the African country.

Frustration over the issue came out into the open when Trump this week designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern and ordered the Pentagon to prepare to intervene militarily.

In a video on Truth Social this week, Trump threatened to “do things to Nigeria that she won’t be happy about” and “go into this now-disgraced country with guns.”

I was kidnapped by Boko Haram, and I survived. No thanks to the silence of the West

Nigerians watch a funeral procession for victims of the Boko Haram attack in Yobe Nigeria in 2024. (Stringer/Reuters)

Moore told Fox News Digital that the designation opens up “15 different levers” the administration could use against Nigeria, including halting arms sales, freezing aid and punishing officials or institutions accused of ignoring or enabling religious killings.

“All options are on the table here regarding this, including kinetic military action,” Moore said. “It could mean targeted strategic counter-terrorism strikes to eliminate some senior leaders if that is what it takes to stop the killing.”

“We’ve been providing security assistance to this country since at least 2009 — worth billions of dollars in weapons sales, training and equipment that they’ve received. And it’s a matter of prioritizing what’s important to them. And clearly that wasn’t one of the most important things.”

the West Virginia Republican He said he was working with the House Appropriations Committee and the State Department to identify what he called “legislative tools” that could support the administration’s response. Moore said he is also consulting with NGOs and Christian organizations “on the ground” in Nigeria to document the scale of the violence.

Cruz clashes with Nigeria over his claims that 50,000 Christians have been killed since 2009 in religious violence.

Solomon Maina, father of Deborah, one of 276 schoolgirls kidnapped from their dormitory by Boko Haram Islamist militants in 2014, reacts as he speaks during an interview at his home in Chibok, Nigeria, April 7, 2024. (Temilade Adelaja/Reuters)

He described the attacks as “genocide,” claiming that Christians were killed at a rate of five to one compared to non-Christians. Moore accused the Nigerian government of “looking the other way” despite receiving billions of dollars in US security aid since 2009.

“They are not taking this seriously,” he added. “We had a pastor warning the government of an imminent attack – they called it fake news. Within 24 hours, that pastor and 20 of his congregants were killed.”

The Nigerian government denies that genocide occurred. “To portray Nigeria’s security challenges as a targeted campaign against one religious group is a gross misrepresentation of reality,” the presidential office wrote on X. “Terrorists attack all who reject their murderous ideology – Muslims, Christians and those who do not belong to any religion alike.”

Moore said he and House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, plan to meet with Nigerian officials in Washington this month as part of the investigation, and may send delegations to the country. He added that the United States can still work with the Nigerian government if it shows its willingness to confront extremist groups.

Boko Haram kidnapping survivor praises Trump as he considers ‘ferocious’ military action in Nigeria

“It’s not just insubordination here, there are some islands in this,” Moore said. “If they are willing to work with us, this could actually lead to a stronger relationship between our two countries.”

The Nigerian government denied that the killings amounted to religious persecution, saying extremist and criminal groups targeted civilians of all faiths.

Nigeria’s vibrant and bustling cities and villages, with a population of more than 230 million, are home to people from strikingly diverse backgrounds. The country’s more than 500 languages ​​and a mix of Islam, Christianity and traditional indigenous faiths have long been marred by tensions.

I am a Christian from Niger. Do not ignore the horrific attacks on African Christians

Religious communities in Nigeria remain sharply divided, with Muslims dominating the northern regions and Christians concentrated in the south.

Christianity took root in the 19th century, when freed slaves educated in Sierra Leone returned home as teachers and missionaries, establishing the schools, churches and early congregations that still shape the identity of southern Nigeria today.

Despite enormous oil and mineral wealth, decades of corruption and mismanagement have left much of the country impoverished.

Nigeria’s growing stock of lithium, cobalt, nickel and other rare earths has attracted the attention of the United States as Washington looks to counter China’s dominance of Africa’s critical minerals market. The Department of Commerce and the US International Development Finance Corporation are eyeing investment opportunities in Nigeria’s emerging lithium industry, but continued insecurity in mining areas threatens Western access and future development.

For more than a decade, Nigerian Christians fleeing the northern half of the country have been subject to violence Boko Haram violenceIt is a radical Islamic group known for its terrorist manifestations. Churches and homes were burned, and communities disappeared in the group’s night raids.

Figures are difficult to verify, but the International Association for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law estimates that at least 52,000 Christians were killed, about 18,500 were kidnapped and are unlikely to survive, and 20,000 Christian churches and schools were attacked between 2009 and 2023.

In 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped and enslaved 276 teenage girls in a raid on a secondary school dormitory. The group regularly arms children as suicide bombers and runs slave markets in captured areas.

Victims injured in a suicide attack receive treatment at a hospital in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Joshua Omery)

But one defense official told Fox News Digital that a direct US military campaign would be difficult given current US assets in the country, and is unlikely.

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The United States does not currently have a permanent military base in Nigeria, although small teams of American advisers and special operations trainers periodically work with Nigerian forces under AFRICOM programs.

Washington agreed to provide $600 million in security aid to Nigeria over the past decade, most of which focused on combating terrorism in the northeast of the country.