WASHINGTON — Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) is pushing a resolution “condemning” the slaughter of Christians in Nigeria after President Trump threatened to enter with US military forces “guns-a-blazing” to halt Islamic extremists.
Moore, a first-term congressman from the Mountain State, will introduce the measure Friday to help stop “the persecution of Christians in Nigeria” who face an “existential threat” from Boko Haram Islamists.
“For too long, the slaughtering of Christians has been ignored. No more,” he told The Post.
“I urge my colleagues — Republican and Democrat alike — to join me in sending a clear message that the United States will not stay silent while our brothers and sisters in Christ suffer grave persecution, and even martyrdom, for their faith in Jesus Christ,” he also said.
“Thank you, President Trump, for your incredible leadership in defending persecuted Christians in Nigeria. Your bold actions will save the lives of thousands of Christians, and I am grateful for your trust to lead this effort in the House alongside Chairman Tom Cole.”
More than 7,000 Christians have been massacred in the West African nation nation, one of the continent’s most populous and its largest oil producer, in the first 220 days of 2025 alone, according to human right NGO Intersociety.
The resolution “calls upon the United States Government to use all available diplomatic, economic, and security tools to pressure the Nigerian Government” into also working “to return internally-displaced persons to their homelands, particularly amongst Christian communities; and repeal blasphemy laws and release all prisoners detained for their faith.”
It also “encourages coordination with international partners to deliver humanitarian aid directly to victims through trusted nongovernmental and faith-based organizations; and affirms the commitment of the United States to stand in solidarity with Christians and to defend their right to practice their faith without fear of persecution, violence, and even death.”
The West Virginia Republican hopes that the resolution will “broaden support among faith-based and human rights advocates, and reassert the US’ role as a defender of religious freedom,” according to a spokeswoman.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has already introduced a bill to protect Nigerian Christians by imposing sanctions on government officials who permit violence and enforce sharia or blasphemy laws, which in the nation carry the death penalty.
In 2009, the extremist terror group launched an insurgency in Nigeria, leading to the murder of more than 125,000 Christians, Intersociety noted in its report. Another 19,000 churches were also destroyed.
Its text cites how Boko Haram has joined with Islamic State West Africa Province and Fulani militants that have “systematically targeted Christian communities through massacres, church burnings, kidnappings, and sexual violence, leaving villages destroyed and millions displaced.”
“[T]hese attacks are not random or merely intercommunal, but deliberate campaigns of religious cleansing, as demonstrated by coordinated assaults during Christian holy days, such as the 2022 Pentecost Massacre, Christmas Eve 2023 massacre and the Holy Week 2025 killings that claimed hundreds of Christian lives.”
The president wrote in a post to Truth Social Saturday: “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians the U.S.A will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, “guns-a-blazing,” to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
“I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action,” Trump added. “If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”
Under former President Joe Biden, Nigeria was removed as a one of many “Countries of Particular Concern” — meaning it had neglected to protect religious freedom for its citizens — but Trump’s State Department placed the west African nation back on that list.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria will continue to defend all citizens, irrespective of race, creed, or religion,” Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday. “Like America, Nigeria has no option but to celebrate the diversity that is our greatest strength.”
“Nigeria is a God-fearing country where we respect faith, tolerance, diversity and inclusion, in concurrence with the rules-based international order,” the ministry also claimed.
