*’We Cannot Make Same Mistake Biden Administration Made. Biden Removed Nigeria’s CPC Designation After Trump’s First Term And All Hell Broke Loose On Christians. We Must Stop The Genocide’
On the heels of last week’s high-level diplomatic and security Joint Working Group talks between the Federal Government (FG) and the United States (US), US Congressman, Rep. Riley Moore has condemned the latest massacre in Plateau State in which over 23 were killed, declaring that the ongoing violence against Christians in the Middle Belt proves Nigeria must not be removed from the US State Department’s list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC).
Recall that Rep. Moore led the US team that visited Benue State in December 2025 as part of a Congressional fact-finding mission to investigate violence, displacement, and alleged attacks on Christian communities in the Middle Belt, in the wake of the Yelwata killings during which terrorists slew over 300 residents.
One of FG’s objectives at the talks, held in the US, was to present a comprehensive report on the government’s crackdown on terrorists, especially those killing Christians, and subsequently urge the President Donald Trump administration to strike off Nigeria from the CPC list.
The CPC designation is a significant US foreign policy tool that identifies governments engaged in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom. Removal from the list often signals improved conditions, while remaining on it can lead to sanctions or restrictions on foreign aid.
But, even as Nigeria’s position, presented by the country’s representatives, among whom were Defence Minister, Gen. Christopher Musa, and National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, was being digested in Washington, terrorists engaged in fresh bloodletting in Plateau State this Monday and yesterday.
The development was quickly not lost on Rep. Moore, a Trump close ally, who issued a statement in response to the brutal attack on the Binper community in Mangu Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State, where gunmen killed at least 23 residents between midnight on Monday and the early hours of Tuesday, 18 August, 2026.
The attack was reportedly characterized by extreme brutality.
Residents and eyewitnesses recounted that the heavily armed assailants moved systematically through the village while residents were asleep, forcing entry into homes and slaughtering occupants.
Sources said: “They were moving from house to house, opening the doors of people who were sleeping and slaughtering them. By Tuesday morning, we have confirmed over 20 deaths, while several others sustained serious injuries and some people still missing.”
Videos circulating online following the incident showed distraught women from the community protesting the killing of their loved ones.
In a post shared on his official X handle, Rep. Moore rejected the notion of lifting Nigeria’s CPC designation, citing the recent bloodfest.
He argued that while there may be perceived security improvements in Northern Nigeria, the Middle Belt, where he claims most attacks against Christians occur, remained a killing field.
His words: “Christians are being slaughtered across the Middle Belt with impunity. There may be progress in the north, but nothing has changed in the Middle Belt where most attacks against Christians occur.”
Rep. Moore poured acidic criticism on the previous Joe Biden administration’s foreign policy, asserting that the decision to remove Nigeria from the CPC list after President Trump’s first term led to a surge in violence in Nigeria.
Asserting that the US under Trump will not make similar mistake, the Congressman stated: “We cannot make the same mistake the Biden Administration made. Biden removed the CPC designation from Nigeria after President Trump’s first term and all hell broke loose on Christians. We must stop the genocide.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: Rep. Moore (2nd right) speaking to a female survivor of terrorists’ attack at a camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue State…December, 2025.
