Tinubu Spending Millions on Lobbying Congress Instead of Addressing ‘Christian Genocide’ — US Lawmaker

A United States lawmaker, Rep. Riley M. Moore, has accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of spending “millions lobbying Congress” while allegedly failing to address what he described as the “genocide Nigerian Christians face daily.”

Moore made the claims in a series of posts on his X (formerly Twitter) page, where he also revealed that the US House Appropriations Committee had passed a State Department funding bill aimed at addressing insecurity and religious violence in Nigeria.

“The Tinubu Administration is spending millions lobbying Congress while failing to adequately address the genocide Nigerian Christians face daily,” Moore wrote.

“@HouseAppropsGOP just passed our annual State Department funding bill which takes serious steps to address this crisis.”

According to him, the proposed legislation introduces strict conditions for US assistance to Nigeria, with a strong focus on accountability and human rights.

“Further, the law requires that any US assistance prioritizes: atrocities prevention, advancing religious freedom, prosecuting Fulani ethnic militia groups, criminal gangs, and other jihadist terrorist groups,” he stated.

He added that the bill also emphasises: “Accountability for police and security forces, delivery of humanitarian assistance, bolstering faith-based organizations’ response in areas impacted by violence, and efforts to disarm Fulani ethnic militants.”

Moore further disclosed that he worked alongside Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart to introduce restrictions on security assistance to Nigeria unless specific conditions are met.

“In this bill, I worked with @MarioDB to restrict Security Assistance to Nigeria unless certain criteria are met, including effectively responding to violence and holding perpetrators accountable,” he said.

“Prioritizing resources for internally displaced persons and actively returning displaced persons to their ancestral homelands.”

He also noted that the bill mandates the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to evaluate Nigeria’s compliance with these requirements.

“It requires @SecRubio to assess Abuja’s compliance with these standards,” Moore added.

Beyond restrictions, the lawmaker said the bill places Nigeria under stricter scrutiny by US authorities.

“The bill we passed out of committee also adds Nigeria to the list of countries requiring much higher levels of oversight,” he said.

“The Secretary is required to submit a plan for every dollar appropriated to Nigeria, and every dollar spent will have direct Congressional oversight.”

He revealed that the legislation also includes funding targeted at addressing insecurity in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.

“The bill also includes millions in funding for International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement to address ‘violence perpetrated by Fulani Ethnic Militia’ and other sources of instability in the Middle Belt,” he said.

According to Moore, part of the intervention is aimed at strengthening local security structures.

“That provision also bolsters support for the establishment of state-level police forces so Christians in Plateau and Benue aren’t sitting ducks waiting for help from Abuja,” he said.

The US lawmaker maintained that the Tinubu administration had not met expectations tied to previous security assistance.

“In my view, the Tinubu Administration has failed to live up to the conditions the appropriations committee placed on security assistance,” he said.

“I urge @SecRubio to take this into account in administering both FY26 and FY27 funding.”

Moore further stressed that efforts to address violence against Christians in Nigeria have received bipartisan backing in the US Congress.

“Cracking down on the crisis Christians face in Nigeria has been supported in two appropriations bills by both Republicans and Democrats,” he said.

“The United States will not turn a blind eye to the brutal persecution of our Nigerian brothers and sisters in Christ.”