The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has thrown its weight behind U.S. lawmaker Riley Moore, who recently criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for allegedly denying the worsening persecution of Christians across the country. HURIWA described Moore’s comments as an accurate reflection of Nigeria’s current security reality, insisting that attacks on Christian communities have reached genocidal levels.
Moore, in a Fox News interview, accused Nigerian authorities of being “complicit” in the growing violence, citing cases like that of Adamawa farmer Sunday Jackson sentenced to death after defending himself as evidence of systemic bias against Christians. He also dismissed President Tinubu’s public remarks on the situation as “completely false.”
HURIWA echoed these concerns, alleging that the Federal Government’s repeated denial of targeted killings has become “disturbing,” especially as key officials defending the government’s stance including the President, Vice President, Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Information are all Muslims. The group argued that this pattern of dismissing documented atrocities has emboldened violent groups and contributed to a climate of impunity.
According to the rights organisation, several global watchdogs have consistently ranked Nigeria among the deadliest countries in the world for Christians. It pointed to the Open Doors World Watch List, which regularly places Nigeria in the top tier of high-risk nations, and to data from Intersociety reporting over 7,000 Christian deaths in 2023 and more than 50,000 since 2009, largely attributed to Boko Haram, ISWAP and armed Fulani militias. Reports from Amnesty International, International Crisis Group, and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) were also cited as further evidence of escalating violence.
HURIWA noted that international moral voices have also raised alarm. It recalled a recent statement by Pope Leo XIV, who condemned the “indiscriminate slaughter” of Christian communities in Nigeria and urged world leaders to intervene before more villages are destroyed and worship centres attacked.
The group called on the U.S. Congress to prioritise its scheduled hearing on religious persecution in Nigeria and to consider stronger measures including President Donald Trump’s earlier warning of targeted military action against terrorist enclaves as a deterrent to extremists.
HURIWA further urged the Nigerian government to stop “shielding the truth” and instead embrace international cooperation aimed at dismantling terror networks responsible for mass atrocities. Continued denial, it warned, only paves the way for more bloodshed.
The organisation appealed to global democracies to stand in solidarity with vulnerable Christian populations in Nigeria, stressing that the scale and consistency of attacks amount to a “slow-motion genocide” that demands urgent international response