By Luka Binniyat and Mike James Odeh
(Abuja) — The United States House Appropriations Committee has advanced a State Department funding bill that would impose strict conditions on U.S. security assistance to Nigeria, citing persistent violence against Christians, according to a BusinessDay report on Thursday, April 30, 2026.
The proposal, which must still pass both chambers of Congress, would require the Nigerian government to demonstrate measurable progress in curbing violence, prosecuting perpetrators, and supporting displaced populations before certain categories of aid are released, the report says.
Speaking in support of the measure, according to the report, Riley Moore accused the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu of failing to adequately address what he described as escalating attacks on Christian communities, particularly in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.
Riley Moore is a U.S. Congressman and a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee who has pushed legislation on the systematic persecution of Christians. He urged U.S. action after he led a congressional fact-finding committee investigating alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria in December 2025.
“This bill takes serious steps to address this crisis,” Moore said, adding that the United States “will not turn a blind eye to the brutal persecution” of affected populations, the report adds.
Under the proposed framework, the U.S. State Department must certify Nigeria’s compliance with the conditions before funds are disbursed, Moore wrote on his X handle on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.
The legislation also stipulates congressional oversight of every dollar of U.S. assistance, he stated in the post.
“The Tinubu Administration is spending millions lobbying Congress while failing to adequately address the genocide Nigerian Christians face daily,” he charged.
“Further,” he added, “the law requires that any US assistance prioritizes:
“Atrocities prevention; advancing religious freedom; prosecuting Fulani ethnic militia groups, criminal gangs, and other jihadist terrorist groups.
“Accountability for police and security forces; delivery of humanitarian assistance and bolstering faith-based organizations’ response in areas impacted by violence,” he stated.
Moore’s bill also includes millions in funding for International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement to address “violence perpetrated by Fulani Ethnic Militia” and other sources of instability in the Middle Belt.
“That provision also bolsters support for the establishment of state-level police forces so Christians in Plateau and Benue states aren’t sitting ducks waiting for help from Abuja,” Moore said.
“In my view,” he said, “the Tinubu Administration has failed to live up to the conditions the Appropriations Committee placed on security assistance,” he said.
Nigeria was previously designated a “Country of Particular Concern” for religious freedom by the U.S. State Department in 2020, a label that was removed the following year, sparking debate among policymakers and advocacy groups.
“If this bill becomes a law,” said Prof. Emmanuel Musa of the Department of Sociology, Niger State University, Lapai, Niger State, Nigeria, “the bill could reshape America-Nigeria security cooperation in an uncomfortable manner for Abuja,” he told TruthNigeria from Lapai via phone on Thursday.
“The law would tie assistance more directly to human-rights benchmarks, while increasing diplomatic pressure on the Federal Government, which has been awkward in addressing longstanding concerns about terrorism and civilian protection,” he said.
“I believe both Christians and non-Christians would be equally protected. So, it’s a welcome development,” he added.
The President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr. Bitrus Pogu, in his reaction, said that he was very excited by the bill.
“I have gone through some parts of the bill, and I am very excited about it,” he told TruthNigeria.
“The Middle Belt, which has the majority of the Christian population under genocidal attacks from different groups of Islamic terrorist groups, cannot wait for this bill to become law,” he said.
Nigerian authorities have yet to issue an official response to the latest development.
Luka Binniyat and Mike James Odeh write for TruthNigeria on Politics and Conflict from Kaduna.
