Nigeria should remain on US ‘country of particular concern’ list, US lawmaker says

U.S. lawmaker Riley Moore has called on the United States government to retain Nigeria’s designation as a “country of particular concern” (CPC), arguing that the Nigerian government has not done enough to protect Christians from attacks.

Moore made the statement on Tuesday, August 18, in a post on X responding to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker’s account of a meeting with Nigeria’s delegation led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu in Washington on August 12.

“Do not remove the CPC designation for Nigeria. They have not done near enough to protect Christians! They continue to get slaughtered!!” Moore said.

Hooker said the second meeting of the U.S.-Nigeria Joint Working Group focused on security and the protection of Christian communities, particularly in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.

According to the U.S. Department of State, the discussions covered three main areas: protecting Christian communities, improving judicial and security institutions to hold perpetrators of violence accountable, and strengthening military-to-military cooperation.

The officials also reviewed the resettlement of internally displaced persons to their ancestral communities, counterterrorism prosecutions and efforts to combat terrorist financing.

Hooker separately met with Ribadu to discuss bilateral security priorities and reaffirm U.S. support for efforts to protect Christian communities in Nigeria.

Moore, who was part of a U.S. fact-finding delegation that visited Nigeria over allegations of genocide against Christians, has previously criticised the Nigerian government’s response to attacks on Christian communities.

His latest comments followed renewed violence in parts of Nigeria in which bandits reportedly killed scores of people.

The CPC designation is a U.S. government classification for countries where authorities are considered to have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom. Nigeria’s status and the possibility of its removal have become a subject of debate among U.S. officials and lawmakers.