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| Rep Moore fact-finding trip to Nigeria |
A U.S. congressman has brought international attention to a severe humanitarian crisis in Nigeria’s Benue State, stating that over 600,000 displaced Christians are now living in camps following attacks by armed Fulani groups.
Rep. Riley Moore, following a fact-finding visit, shared harrowing survivor accounts on social media, calling the violence “genocidal.” He described testimonies that he said would “remain with me for the rest of my life.”
Survivors shared brutal accounts with the lawmaker, including a woman forced to watch the killing of her husband and five children, and another whose family was murdered before her and her unborn child was torn from her womb. A man recounted his family being hacked to death and suffering a permanent maiming.
“These Christians should be able to live in their ancestral homeland without fear,” Moore stated, urging greater global focus on the displacement crisis.
During his trip, Moore also met with Catholic bishops and Tiv traditional leaders to discuss the persistent conflict in Nigeria's Middle Belt region. The congressman's fact-finding trip comes amid broader U.S. concerns over religious violence in the African country where thousands of Christian have been killed.
— GRACE MICHAEL contributed to this report.