United States Congressman Riley Moore has said the Nigerian government is showing signs of willingness to address attacks against Christian communities following sustained pressure from Washington, although he maintains that more efforts are needed to end religious violence in the country.
Moore made the assessment in a social media statement marking the first anniversary of President Donald Trump’s decision to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over alleged violations of religious freedom.
The Republican lawmaker credited Trump’s intervention, efforts by American lawmakers to attach conditions to assistance to Nigeria and campaigns by faith-based organisations with what he described as progress in addressing attacks against Christians.
According to Moore, these combined efforts have started producing results.
“The President’s steadfast and decisive leadership, @houseappropsgop’s work to condition aid to Nigeria and impose requirements to defend Christians, and the tireless work of advocacy and faith-based organisations has started to make a difference,” he wrote.
He further claimed that Nigeria experienced its first Christmas without a massacre of Christians in recent memory, describing it as an indication of progress.
“We saw the first Christmas without a massacre of Christians in recent memory. There is much more work to be done, but the government of Nigeria has shown signs of a willingness to address the violence against our brothers and sisters in Christ,” Moore added.
However, the congressman warned that attacks against Christians had not ended, calling for renewed efforts by the American government and religious freedom advocacy organisations to protect vulnerable communities.
“Christians in Nigeria, and around the world, continue to face unspeakable violence. On this anniversary, we must rededicate our efforts to defend Christians in Nigeria and anywhere they face persecution,” he said.
Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern in November 2025, following concerns raised by American lawmakers and Christian advocacy groups over attacks against Christian communities.
Nigeria was previously placed on the US religious freedom watchlist in 2020 during Trump’s first administration. However, former President Joe Biden removed the country from the list in 2021, a decision that attracted criticism from some Republican lawmakers and religious organisations.
Following the November 2025 redesignation, Republicans in the US House Appropriations Committee pushed for conditions to be attached to American assistance to Nigeria, demanding demonstrable steps by the Federal Government to protect Christian communities and prosecute perpetrators of religiously motivated violence.
The CPC designation allows Washington to consider measures including diplomatic pressure, sanctions and restrictions on certain forms of assistance against governments found to have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has repeatedly rejected the characterisation of the country’s security crisis as a systematic campaign of religious persecution against Christians.
The Federal Government maintains that insecurity affects both Christians and Muslims and involves several threats, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and farmer-herder conflicts.
It has also pointed to ongoing security operations, engagements with international partners and efforts to strengthen protection for vulnerable communities as part of its response to the crisis.
