US Rep Says Airstrikes Were to End Slaughter of Christians in Nigeria
Riley Moore, a member of the United States House of Representatives, has declared that the recent US military bombardment of terrorist targets in Nigeria was specifically engineered to halt the persecution and killing of Christians in the country.
Moore made the statement while reacting to the Christmas Day air strikes launched by the United States against terrorist enclaves in the Bauni forest, located in Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, which was accompanied by a clip of his interview on Fox News, the lawmaker emphasized that the operation marked a significant departure from the pattern of violence witnessed during previous holiday seasons.
He noted that for the past two years, Christian communities in Nigeria had suffered massacres on Christmas Day, but the narrative changed this year under the leadership of US President Donald Trump.
“Obviously, President Trump has finally stood up to this and I do want to point out something very important: the last two Christmases, there has been a massacre of Christians in Nigeria,” Moore stated.
“The tables have absolutely turned this year. The Islamic terrorists in Nigeria were the ones receiving that type of present this year. So, quite a bit different, the president is totally focused on this. He made that very clear in this attack and this is a very good first step to addressing this issue.”
The West Virginia Republican clarified that the operation was not a unilateral action by the United States but a collaborative effort with the Nigerian authorities to improve security.
This aligns with recent confirmations from Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, who stated that the Federal Government provided the intelligence for the strike.
“We did this in coordination with the Nigerian government, which is very important to point out. Because this isn’t the United States unilaterally doing this, we are doing this in coordination with the Nigerian government to help secure their country and end the slaughter of Christians in Nigeria,” Moore explained.
Moore, who visited Nigeria in November, also took a swipe at critics of the military intervention, suggesting that opposition to the strikes stems from a desire to appease “Islamic radical bases.”
The comments introduce a specific religious protection narrative to the operation, distinguishing Moore’s rhetoric from the Nigerian government’s broader framing of the strike as a counter-terrorism measure against bandits and insurgents.
