United States Representative Riley Moore has responded to the kidnapping of 25 female students from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, calling for prayers while urging the Nigerian government to take stronger action against what he described as rampant violence.
The West Virginia congressman’s intervention comes following Monday’s deadly pre-dawn raid in which armed bandits stormed the school, killed the Vice Principal, and abducted the students in an attack that has shocked communities across northern Nigeria.
A local resident, Malama Murjanatu Hassan Gishiri, provided harrowing details of the assault to journalists, describing how the attackers invaded the school during nighttime hours and operated without facing meaningful resistance, plunging the entire community into panic and fear.
She characterized the invasion as “a heartbreaking tragedy that has thrown the entire region into deep fear and mourning,” noting that the bandits arrived in overwhelming numbers and completely overpowered the area before security forces could mount an effective response.
Taking to his social media platform X, Congressman Moore expressed sympathy for the victims while making claims about the religious identity of the affected community that align with ongoing tensions between Washington and Abuja over allegations of Christian persecution.
“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,” Moore wrote, offering condolences for the slain school administrator.
The American lawmaker then made a specific characterization of the location that adds religious dimensions to the tragedy. “While we don’t have all the details on this horrific attack, we know that the attack occurred in a Christian enclave in Northern Nigeria,” Moore claimed.
He concluded his statement with a direct challenge to Nigerian authorities, writing: “The Nigerian government must do more to end the rampant violence.”
Moore’s framing of the Kebbi attack as occurring in a “Christian enclave” comes amid heightened diplomatic friction between the United States and Nigeria following President Donald Trump’s controversial designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged Christian persecution.
Trump has threatened military intervention and suspension of all American aid if Nigeria fails to stop what Washington characterizes as systematic killing of Christians by Islamic extremists, claims that the Nigerian government has firmly rejected as misrepresentations of complex security challenges affecting citizens of all religious backgrounds.
The congressman’s specific mention of the community’s religious identity, despite acknowledging that “we don’t have all the details,” suggests that American officials are viewing bandit attacks in northern Nigeria through the lens of religious persecution rather than the criminality and resource-driven violence that Nigerian authorities say is the primary driver.
Nigerian security agencies have consistently maintained that banditry in the northwest region is motivated primarily by economic factors, with armed groups targeting communities for kidnapping ransoms, cattle rustling, and territorial control regardless of the religious composition of victims.
The Kebbi State Police Command has confirmed the attack and deployed tactical units alongside military personnel to pursue the kidnappers and rescue the abducted students. The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, has personally visited the state to direct rescue operations and ordered troops to maintain day-and-night pressure on the bandits.
Moore’s intervention represents the latest example of American lawmakers weighing in on Nigeria’s internal security challenges, with several members of Congress having expressed concern about what they view as insufficient protection for Christian communities in Africa’s most populous nation.
However, his characterization of the attack as targeting a Christian enclave may complicate rather than assist rescue efforts, as it reinforces narratives that the Nigerian government argues are oversimplified and potentially inflammatory in a country where religious and ethnic tensions require careful management.
The timing of Moore’s statement is particularly sensitive given that he was recently involved in a public exchange with former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, whom the congressman accused of complicity in Christian deaths due to his implementation of Sharia law during his gubernatorial tenure.
As rescue operations continue in Kebbi State, the injection of religious framing into the tragedy by an American lawmaker highlights how local criminal violence in Nigeria is increasingly being interpreted through geopolitical and religious lenses by international actors, potentially complicating diplomatic relations and domestic efforts to address security challenges.
The focus for families and communities affected by the Maga school attack remains on the safe recovery of the 25 abducted girls, with security forces under intense pressure to locate and rescue the students before their captors can move them to more remote locations or begin making ransom demands.
