Republican Congress, Riley M. Moore has said that government in Nigeria under President Tinubu is pouring millions into lobbying Congress in Washington even as it fails to stop the daily slaughter of Christians that many call genocide.
According to him, House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee just passed their big State Department funding bill for next year and it hits Nigeria hard with real conditions and extra watchdogs. Rep. Riley Moore from West Virginia worked with Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart to build these changes into the law so American money does not keep flowing freely while the killings continue.
Half of all US security assistance for Nigeria’s central government will be frozen unless the Secretary of State confirms that Nigeria is taking real action. That includes stopping attacks, responding quickly when violence happens, and prosecuting those responsible. The government must also invest serious resources in helping victims, including thousands forced from their homes.
The bill goes further by requiring Nigeria to help displaced families safely return to their ancestral lands, rebuild destroyed communities, and secure the funding needed to make recovery possible.
Any US aid that does go out must focus first on stopping mass killings before they start including early warning systems. It must push for true religious freedom. It must go after Fulani ethnic militia groups jihadist terror outfits and criminal gangs with real investigations and prosecutions. Police and security forces must answer for how well they protect everyday people from attacks. Humanitarian help must reach those who need it fast. Basic services must be restored in the hardest hit areas, especially through faith based groups that are already on the ground. And the bill calls for real efforts to disarm the Fulani militants who keep causing so much of the trouble.
Nigeria is now placed on a high oversight list alongside other countries of concern. The Secretary of State must submit a detailed spending plan to Congress for every dollar sent, with lawmakers closely monitoring how the money is used.
The bill also directs extra funding toward international narcotics control and law enforcement programs focused on violent regions such as the Middle Belt. It increases support for building state level police forces in areas like Plateau and Benue, where local communities often wait too long for help from the federal government in Abuja.
Moore says the Tinubu administration has already failed to meet earlier conditions the committee set on security aid. He is urging Secretary of State Rubio to keep that failure in mind when handing out money for the current year and next year too.
This tough approach has already won support from both Republicans and Democrats in two separate spending bills. The message from Congress is clear. The United States refuses to look the other way while Nigerian Christians our brothers and sisters in faith face brutal persecution day after day.
