“Their Husbands Were Slaughtered Like Animals” – U.S. Congressman Riley Moore Visits Benue IDP Camps, Exposes Fresh Atrocities Against Christians
By Njenje Media News, Makurdi
U.S. Congressman and West Virginia State Treasurer, Hon. Riley Moore, on Monday visited several internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Benue State, where he heard harrowing testimonies from women whose husbands, children, and relatives were brutally killed by suspected Fulani militants.
In a viral thread posted on his verified X handle, @RepRileyMoore, the American lawmaker shared emotional photos and videos from the camps, showing him seated on mats beneath mango trees, surrounded by hundreds of displaced Tiv women and clergymen.
“Today I visited IDP camps in Benue State, Nigeria, and heard heartbreaking stories from women whose husbands were murdered by Fulani militants. Some held the very babies who will now grow up without fathers,” Moore wrote.
One widow, breaking down in tears, recounted how armed men stormed her village at night, killed her husband in front of their children, and burned their home to the ground. Another woman told Moore that six of her brothers were hacked to death while defending their farmland.
“Over 600,000 Christians have been displaced in Benue alone. The world cannot continue to ignore this tragedy,” the Congressman declared.
Njenje Media gathered that Moore’s delegation visited camps in Gbajimba, Abagana, and other settlements hosting survivors of repeated attacks across Gwer West, Logo, Katsina-Ala, and Agatu local government areas throughout 2025.
Figures from the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) show that at least 500,000 people – mostly Christian farmers – remain displaced, with fresh waves of attacks recorded as recently as November.
Local clergy who accompanied the U.S. team told Njenje Media that the visit has revived hope among traumatised residents.
“For years we have cried out and nobody listened. Now a whole Congressman from America has come to sit with us on the bare ground and hear our pain. We believe help is coming,” said Rev. Akpen Leva of the Universal Reformed Christian Church (NKST).
Moore’s visit comes just weeks after U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and several other lawmakers renewed calls for Nigeria to be redesignated as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over what they described as the “systematic persecution of Christians.”
While the Nigerian government maintains that the killings are “farmer–herder clashes” fuelled by climate pressures and land disputes, survivors insist the attacks are coordinated, targeted, and religiously motivated.
As he departed the camps, Moore vowed to brief the U.S. Congress and advocate for decisive international action.
“These are real people with real stories of loss. We must not look away,” he wrote.
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