Fresh concerns over Nigeria’s security challenges have emerged from the United States, with a senior lawmaker, Riley Moore, pushing for urgent reforms to strengthen protection at the local level.
Moore urged Nigerian authorities to decentralise the country’s policing structure, arguing that state governments should be empowered to take greater control of local security operations.
In a statement shared on X, the congressman stressed that urgent steps were needed to safeguard citizens, particularly in the Middle Belt, where communities have faced persistent violence. He warned that the current security framework remains overstretched and insufficient to address local threats effectively.
The lawmaker, who has been vocal on Nigeria’s security challenges, has consistently raised concerns about religious violence and the rise of extremist groups, positions that broadly reflect the foreign policy stance of Donald Trump.
In recent months, Moore has intensified his involvement by backing legislative efforts in the United States and pushing for greater accountability from Nigerian authorities over the handling of insecurity.
He also led a bipartisan congressional delegation to Nigeria, where meetings were held with victims of violence, faith leaders, and senior government officials as part of an on-the-ground assessment of the crisis.
As part of his recommendations, Moore called for Nigeria to be redesignated as a “Country of Particular Concern”, a classification previously applied under Trump’s administration, citing what he described as ongoing and widespread religious persecution.
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