A United States lawmaker, Riley Moore, has come under criticism following his reaction to Monday’s abduction of schoolgirls from Government Secondary School, Maga, in Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
Moore, in a post on X on Tuesday, condemned the attack and called for prayers for the victims. “Please join me in praying for the 25 girls who have been kidnapped and for the repose of the soul of their vice principal, who was killed,” he wrote.
He further commented that the assault took place “in a Christian enclave in Northern Nigeria,” and urged authorities to take stronger action. “The Nigerian government must do more to end the rampant violence,” he added.
The attack, carried out by heavily armed bandits, left the vice principal dead, several staff members injured, and 25 students abducted in the early hours of Monday.
However, Moore’s description of the affected community triggered strong pushback, with many Nigerians accusing the lawmaker of misrepresenting the incident.
Bashir Ahmad, former Senior Special Assistant on New Media to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, publicly corrected Moore’s claim in the comment section of the post.
“While appreciating your concern and praying for our sisters, it is important to correct a crucial detail here — the attack did not occur in a Christian enclave,” Ahmad wrote. “It happened within a Muslim community, and the victims themselves were Muslims. This is precisely why we keep saying that even you, Americans, either do not understand the complexity of Nigeria’s insecurity challenges, or you are deliberately pushing unholy narratives that risk worsening our already fragile unity.”
The exchange has reignited conversations around frequent mischaracterisations of Nigeria’s insecurity, particularly claims of “Christian genocide,” which Nigerian officials have repeatedly dismissed as inaccurate and harmful.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has expressed deep concern over the Kebbi attack, assuring that it “shares in the pain of the victims” and is working with security agencies to secure the safe return of the abducted schoolgirls.