* Criticises U.S. lawmakers for sidelining Muslim voices and promoting sectarian narratives
The Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC), Nigeria, has expressed serious concern over what it described as the troubling and divisive conduct of a recent United States congressional delegation to Nigeria.
In a statement signed by its Executive Chairman, Mal. Disu Kamor, the group condemned the recent visit of a U.S. congressional delegation led by Congressman Riley Moore, a strong promoter of the “Christian genocide” allegation.
Mal Kamor criticised the delegation for visibly aligning with Christian leaders while completely ignoring Muslim leadership and victims.
He described such behaviour as partisan and driven by a predetermined narrative influenced by anti-Muslim elements within the United States.
According to him, The delegation avoided every major Muslim institution, including the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), the recognized umbrella body of the nation’s Muslim population.
“They avoided Muslim communities ravaged by violence, including leaders of such communities, and also avoided Muslim victims of violence – men, women, and children whose stories form a crucial part of Nigeria’s security and humanitarian reality.”
Mal Kamor warned that such biased engagement undermines the credibility of any peace and security mission and could further polarize the already delicate religious landscape in Nigeria.
The group reaffirmed its commitment to speaking against all forms of injustice and imbalance, urging international actors to engage Nigeria with the neutrality and moral responsibility the country’s complex context demands.
Read the full release
MPAC Condemns U.S. Delegation’s Sectarian Engagement in Nigeria
The Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC) expresses profound concern over the deeply troubling conduct of the United States delegation that recently visited Nigeria. The U.S. congressional delegation’s schedule was packed with security‑focused talks with Nigerian government. However, in the heat of that schedule, a member of the delegation found time to meet with Christian and traditional leaders and this was a major highlight for him. US Lawmaker and Congressman Riley Moore, a strong promoter of the “Christian genocide” allegation, triumphantly announced on his X account: “I came to Nigeria in the name of the Lord and on behalf of the American people. Just ending a very productive Congressional visit! We had rounds of meetings with the Nigerian government and people on the ground, including stops in Benue State.
It was an honour and deeply moving to meet with his excellency Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, Bishop Isaac Dugu, and His Royal Highness James Ioruza, traditional ruler of the Tiv people, to discuss the ongoing genocidal campaign by the Fulani in Benue State.”
In a country where religion remains a sensitive and defining feature of our national life, a prominent member of the delegation chose- quite deliberately – to meet only a narrow band of actors, including his publicized visit to the Pope’s representative in Benue and the Tiv traditional ruler, while completely shutting out the leadership of the Nigerian Muslim community.
This was not a scheduling oversight. It was a message. And it is a message that Nigerians of conscience cannot ignore.
The delegation avoided every major Muslim institution, including the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), the recognized umbrella body of the nation’s Muslim population. They avoided Muslim communities ravaged by violence, including leaders of such communities, and also avoided Muslim victims of violence – men, women, and children whose stories form a crucial part of Nigeria’s security and humanitarian reality.
How does any delegation claiming neutrality step into a multi-faith nation and intentionally cut off communication with one of its largest faith communities? What kind of fact-finding exercise excludes the people whose suffering is central to the crisis being examined? And what motive underpins a visit that visibly aligns itself with Christian leadership while refusing to engage Muslim leadership?
These actions do not suggest impartial diplomacy. They suggest partisanship. They suggest an agenda. And they suggest that certain extreme voices of Christian propagandists, and biased actors in the United States – long known for their anti-Muslim narratives on Nigeria – may now be influencing official U.S. engagement in our country.
Nigeria must not become a playground for imported prejudice or religiously skewed foreign policy of the United States.
A dangerous pattern is emerging:
– Selective listening.
– Selective engagement.
– Selective outrage.
This pattern undermines coexistence, fuels suspicion, emboldens extremists and faith supremacists, and threatens the fragile fabric of peace between Nigeria’s faith communities.
Every Nigerian of conscience must ask the following questions:
– Why was the NSCIA deliberately excluded?
– Why were Muslim victims of violence ignored while Christian leaders—including the Pope’s representative in Benue were prioritized?
– What mechanisms exist to prevent U.S. policy on Nigeria from being shaped by extremist religious lobbies abroad, especially that of the US evangelical groups and Zionists?
Nigeria deserves fairness. Nigerian Muslims deserve respect. And every engagement with our country must reflect balance – not a predetermined narrative curated to reinforce sectarian biases.
MPAC stands firm: we will speak out against every form of injustice, every shade of imbalance, and every attempt – foreign or local – to deepen the divide between Nigeria’s Muslim and Christian communities. We remain committed to promoting truth, justice, and peace, and we urge all international partners to conduct themselves with the neutrality and moral responsibility our context demands.
–The End–
Disu Kamor
Executive Chairman
Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC), Nigeria
kamor.disu@mpac-ng.org
www.mpac-ng.org
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