US Congressman claims over 600,000 displaced Christians are sheltering in Benue IDP camps

US Congressman Riley M. Moore has claimed that more than 600,000 displaced Christians are currently living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Benue State, following what he described as “genocidal violence” targeting rural communities.

Moore, who represents West Virginia’s 2nd District in the US House of Representatives, said he met with “dozens of Christians who were driven from their homes and subjected to horrific violence.”

He described their testimonies as “horrible,” adding that the stories would stay with him “for the rest of my life.”

In a series of posts on his official X handle, the congressman recounted accounts of extreme brutality allegedly carried out during attacks on villages.

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He said one woman was forced to watch as armed assailants killed her husband and five children before she narrowly fled with her unborn baby.

Another survivor, he wrote, had her family murdered in front of her before attackers “ripped her baby from her womb.” Moore also said he met a man whose family was “hacked to death,” leaving his own arm permanently damaged.

“These Christians should be able to live in their ancestral homeland without fear,” he said, urging global attention to what he called a deepening humanitarian crisis.

Moore warned that the scale of displacement in Benue highlights worsening insecurity and called for greater international engagement to support the survivors now living in overcrowded, under-resourced IDP camps.

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He also shared photographs showing victims and camp conditions.

Authorities in Nigeria and international rights groups have documented repeated attacks on farming communities across the Middle Belt region, though casualty figures and the identities of attackers often remain disputed.

Moore’s account adds to growing calls from foreign lawmakers, humanitarian advocates, and local leaders for urgent intervention to protect vulnerable populations and tackle the root causes of the violence.