U.S. Rep Asks Kwankwaso To Explain Role In Christian Killings

A member of the United States House of Representatives, Riley M. Moore, has asked the Kano State Government to explain its alleged complicity in the persecution and killing of Christians in northern Nigeria.

Moore, in a post on X, was replying to former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who had earlier reacted to recent U.S. concerns about religious freedom in Nigeria.

“Governor—do you care to comment on your own complicity in the death of Christians?” Moore wrote.

“You instituted Sharia law. You signed the law that makes so-called blasphemy punishable by death,” he added.

Kwankwaso, now leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), had issued a statement condemning the “heightened pronouncements on Nigeria” by U.S. President Donald Trump, following America’s renewed designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” over alleged persecution of Christians.

In addition to designating Nigeria as a CPC, Trump threatened to send U.S. troops to the country to eliminate “terrorists” who have allegedly targeted Christians. He directed Moore and others to report back to him on developments in the matter.

But Kwankwaso had reaffirmed Nigeria’s sovereignty and argued that the country’s security challenges are driven by broader criminality rather than religious hostility.

“Our country is a sovereign nation whose people face different threats from outlaws across the country. The insecurity we face does not distinguish based on religious, ethnic, or political beliefs,” he stated.

“The United States should assist Nigerian authorities with cutting-edge technology to tackle these problems rather than posing a threat that could further polarise our country,” he added.

Kwankwaso also urged the federal government to appoint special envoys and permanent ambassadors to engage with the American government and defend Nigeria’s interests abroad, calling for unity among Nigerians “over division.”

However, Moore’s response reopened old debates about Kano’s introduction of full Sharia law during Kwankwaso’s first tenure as governor in 2000, a policy that drew both local and international criticism.

At the time, reports by the BBC and other international outlets documented that Kano formally implemented Islamic legal codes and introduced punishments such as amputation for theft and banned the sale of alcohol.

Although the state government then said the law would not apply to Christians, it was believed to have created an atmosphere of intolerance in the state.