- Safiu Kehinde
The United States lawmaker, Riley Moore, has sparked mixed reactions from Nigerians following his return to the US to narrate horrific tales of alleged mass killings of Christians in Benue State.
Moore had in a post on his X handle on Wednesday recounted some of the tales narrated to him by survivors of armed herdsmen attacks who were visited at the Internally Displaced Camps by the US lawmaker and other delegates from the US.
In what he described as harrowing stories that will remain with him for the rest of his life, Moore recounted how a woman was forced to watch her husband and five children killed with another having her family murdered in front of her and her baby ripped from her womb.
The US lawmaker thereafter estimated that over 600,000 Christians are in the IDP camps across Benue alone.
“While in Benue, I met with dozens of Christians who were driven from their homes and subjected to horrific violence and now live in IDP camps.
“They told harrowing stories that will remain with me for the rest of my life. One woman was forced to watch as they killed her husband and five children.
“She, and her unborn child, barely escaped. Another woman’s family was murdered in front of her and her baby was ripped from her womb.
“One man’s family was hacked to death in front of his eyes and his armed was permanently mangled. There are more than 600,000 Christians in IDP camps in Benue State alone.
“These Christians should be able to live in their ancestral homeland without fear of genocidal Fulani.” Moore wrote.
The US lawmaker’s post had since sparked mixed reactions from Nigerians with some accusing him of religious sentiment.
They challenged him to visit Muslim dominated states like Borno and Yobe where millions of Muslims have been displaced due to Boko Haram attacks.
“As a Nigerian, I have to say this respectfully: our country has over 200 million people and more than 12 states suffering from severe insecurity.
“Benue is not the only place facing tragedy. If you go to Borno and Yobe, you’ll meet over a million people displaced by Boko Haram.
“Visit Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Niger, or Jos — you will also find massive numbers of victims who have lost their homes, families, and livelihoods.
“It is unfair to present Nigeria’s insecurity as if it comes from only one state or one group. If you truly want to understand what Nigerians are going through, you need to visit the affected Muslim-majority states as well. Otherwise, it feels like there is an agenda behind highlighting only one side of the crisis.” @Mrkhameex wrote.
Another X user, Aliyu Isa Musa, faulted Moore’s selectiveness.
He expressed his disappointment with the US lawmaker’s focus on Christians while ignoring victims of the insurgents’ attack who are Muslim.
“In most IDP camps across Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, and the wider North, the majority of displaced persons are Muslims.
“They have endured the same abductions, the same beheadings, the same burned villages, and the same nights of terror that you rightly condemn when Christians suffer them.
“Yet not a single post from you has acknowledged their grief. Not one documented visit. Not one public prayer for them.
“Not one recognition of their suffering. When a man who claims to walk with the teachings of Jesus — teachings that command love for every neighbor and justice without partiality — chooses to highlight only one group of victims and ignore the other, the world does not see “Christian compassion.”
“The world sees selective outrage. The world sees politics dressed up as piety. The world sees a faith applied selectively, not sincerely.
“But you still have the opportunity to correct that perception. Visit the Muslim-majority camps in Maiduguri, Pulka, and Dikwa.
“Sit with the widows whose husbands were murdered for refusing to renounce Islam. Look into the eyes of the orphans who watched Boko Haram burn their mosques and their homes. Share their stories publicly — the same way you shared the stories of Christian victims.
“Show the world that your heart is big enough to recognize all of God’s children, not only those who share your creed.
“If you choose to do this, you will return to America not as a partisan figure, but as a genuine bridge-builder — a man who honored the universal mercy Jesus taught.
“If you do not, then with sadness, millions here and abroad will conclude that the “Christian solidarity” you proclaim is conditional, and that your silence toward suffering Muslims speaks louder than any scripture you quote.
“The choice is entirely yours, Representative Moore. History is watching. Nigeria is watching. And yes — God is watching.
“Prove that your faith is greater than your politics. Prove that mercy has no tribal boundaries. We are waiting.” Musa wrote.
Some other netizens also share similar views while other defended Moore’s focus on the Chritsian victims.
“Continued existence of Nigeria will always be a horror to humanity . So painful but the forever solution is to divide Nigeria . As long as Nigeria continued to be one, the slaughter will continue. The radical Islamic extremists have sees non Muslim as Infidel that shouldn’t live . So the continued slaughter of Christians will continue if the world continued to support one Nigeria . Help divide Nigeria and safe lives.”@EmekaGift100
“if in Benue alone there’s 600,000 Christians so in Borno alone you can find like 6 million Muslims that lost there relatives, home and everything that allow human to live in peace they lost it, but there voice is not hear by you just, don’t prejudice things without by hearing to one side exaggerated claims, more Muslims were killed than Christian in Borno alone the Muslims were killed and the one that are displaced are far, far more than the entire Christian victims. this problem does not affect Christian. it’s just Christian voice is more than everyone else in Nigeria so that’s why you are hearing there exaggerated story. come back and analyze the North, you will never say Christian genocide or something like that, rather than citizens genocide. thank you Sir for your concern”@AfricanObserva
“Next time you invite a fact-finding mission into Nigeria, at least try to clean up the mess first. Did BAT’s government really think the team would just shake hands at the Villa and ignore the victims who will tell them everything, unfiltered? In my view, this visit will only push Trump to act faster. After all, the president’s son is cruising around with a convoy and armed security detail like he’s the one running for U.S. office.”@flourish007
“More than 600,000 people in IDP camps in Benue State? How many IDP camps are there in Benue State? Did the
@benuestategovtconfirm or verify this figure? Or just another hoax figure of yours as usual?”@SAsekome