By Dalena Reporters l January 1, 2026
WASHINGTON / ABUJA — A prominent United States congressman on Thursday, January 1, 2026, sharply criticised the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) over a reported threat directed at Christian communities in Nigeria, framing recent developments as clear evidence of religious persecution and urging continued international cooperation to protect vulnerable groups.
Rep. Riley M. Moore, a Republican from West Virginia, issued his condemnation via a post on X (formerly Twitter), reacting to widely shared online reports that ISWAP released an image of a Christian village in Adamawa State engulfed in flames, accompanied by a statement declaring that **Christians across Nigeria are “legitimate targets” unless they convert to Islam or pay the historical jizyah tax.
Moore’s statement rejected alternative explanations that frame the violence as rooted in land disputes, climate pressures, or criminality, instead framing it as religious persecution. “If there were any remaining doubts that Christians in Nigeria are being targeted for their faith in Jesus Christ, this should end that debate,” he wrote, adding that such threats mirror tactics used by extremist movements globally.
The lawmaker described the alleged ultimatum as a stark example of the dangers facing religious minorities and reiterated support for ongoing engagement between the United States and Nigerian authorities to counter extremist violence. He also praised cooperation between Washington and Abuja, including security assistance and intelligence sharing, as essential to defending civilian populations against Islamist militants.
Moore’s remarks come amid broader U.S. legislative and executive attention to extremist violence in Nigeria, where Boko Haram and ISWAP have operated for years. Recent U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State–linked militants in northwest Nigeria reflect an intensified counterterrorism partnership between the two countries, even as the Nigerian government maintains that violence affects communities of all faiths and is not exclusively religiously motivated.
The issue has become a contentious aspect of international discourse on Nigeria’s security crisis. Some U.S. lawmakers have pushed for formal condemnations and measures to protect Christian communities, including resolutions in Congress highlighting alleged targeted violence. Meanwhile, regional and Nigerian officials have cautioned that oversimplified narratives of religious genocide risk inflaming sectarian tensions and obscuring the complex drivers of insecurity.
Moore’s condemnation underscores international concern over extremist threats and religious freedom issues, even as verification of the specific claims against ISWAP and their broader implications for Nigeria’s security environment continues to be debated.