A senior US congressman has warned Nigeria’s government that failure to halt recurring attacks on Christians in Plateau State could damage bilateral relations, citing the Palm Sunday killing of at least ten people in Jos.
Republican Representative Riley Moore condemned the incident in a post on X, describing the attackers as “radical Islamic terrorists” who opened fire on worshippers before hacking victims with machetes.
“This Palm Sunday, reports from Nigeria indicate that at least 10 Christians were martyred in the city of Jos. Radical Islamic terrorists opened fire on the Christians before hacking them to pieces with machetes,” Moore wrote.
He added: “This is sickening and unacceptable, but it’s not surprising. Terrorists have attacked Christians in Nigeria on every single holy day in recent memory.”
Moore recalled a previous US response under President Donald Trump, when 12 Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched to stop similar Christmas attacks. He urged Nigerian authorities to “massively ramp up security for the Tridduum and Easter.”
“If they don’t take this threat seriously and mobilise to defend our brothers and sisters in Christ, blood of these martyrs will be on their hands, and there will be significant consequences for Nigeria’s relationship with the United States,” he warned.
The killings are part of a persistent pattern of violence in Plateau State, where communal clashes and insurgent activity have claimed hundreds of lives in recent years, often targeting Christian communities during major religious observances.
The US has previously deployed MQ-9 Reaper drones and about 200 troops to Nigeria for intelligence support in counter-insurgency operations, a mission described as strictly advisory and non-combat.
