State police will protect persecuted Nigerian Christians — US lawmaker

A member of the United States House of Representatives, Riley Moore, has described Nigeria’s proposed state police system as a critical tool for protecting persecuted Christians and tackling insecurity across the country.

Moore, a Republican lawmaker representing West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, made the remarks in a post on his X handle following the Nigerian Senate’s approval of legislation seeking to establish state-level police forces.

The congressman, who has emerged as one of the most vocal American lawmakers on the issue of religious persecution and insecurity in Nigeria, said the reform would strengthen local security structures and enable states to respond more effectively to threats facing their citizens.

“I’m encouraged to see Nigeria’s Senate approve legislation to establish state-level police forces, a reform I’ve called for publicly and privately since I first started investigating the genocide against Christians in Nigeria,” Moore wrote.

He added that decentralising policing would reduce dependence on federal authorities in Abuja and improve efforts to protect vulnerable communities.

“I can’t stress how critical this law that will empower states to protect their own citizens and reducing dependence on decision makers in Abuja is to the effort to defend persecuted Christians and address insecurity,” he stated.

Moore has repeatedly raised concerns about attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria. Since his election to Congress, he has used congressional hearings, public statements and engagements with U.S. foreign policy officials to draw attention to violence in parts of the country, particularly in the North Central region, where farming communities have faced recurring attacks from armed groups.

Earlier this year, the lawmaker led a congressional delegation to Nigeria and neighbouring countries as part of efforts to assess security conditions and gather firsthand information on religiously motivated violence and broader security challenges in the region. He has also called on the U.S. government to place greater diplomatic focus on protecting religious freedom in Nigeria.

While commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for backing the state police initiative, Moore noted that the constitutional amendment process is not yet complete.

“President Tinubu deserves credit for pushing it forward, but now we need two-thirds of the states to ratify before it will take effect,” he said.

The Senate on Wednesday approved the constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police services as part of wider efforts to address rising insecurity across the federation. The proposal would allow states to create and manage their own police formations while operating within a constitutional framework alongside federal security agencies.

For the amendment to become law, it must secure approval from at least 24 of Nigeria’s 36 state Houses of Assembly before being transmitted for presidential assent.

Supporters of the reform argue that state police will enhance community-based policing, improve intelligence gathering and provide quicker responses to local security threats.

However, critics have expressed concerns about possible political abuse by state governments, a concern lawmakers say will be addressed through constitutional safeguards and oversight mechanisms.