…as supporters and critics of Kwankwaso exchange heated opinions.
ABUJA, NIGERIA – The iNews Times | A member of the United States Congress representing West Virginia’s Second District, Rep. Riley M. Moore, has strongly criticised former Kano State governor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, over his comments dismissing reports of Christian genocide in Nigeria.
Kwankwaso, who ran for president under the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) in 2023, had recently rejected the notion that Christians were being targeted in Nigeria. He argued that the country’s security challenges were indiscriminate, cutting across religious, ethnic, and political divides.
His statement came amid global reactions to former US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks categorising Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” and warning of potential US military intervention if the government failed to end the ongoing killings of Christians.
However, Rep. Moore took to his official X (formerly Twitter) handle to slam Kwankwaso, accusing him of hypocrisy and historical complicity in religious persecution during his tenure as governor of Kano State.
“Governor, do you care to comment on your own complicity in the death of Christians?” Moore wrote. “You instituted Sharia law. You signed the law that makes so-called blasphemy punishable by death.”
The US lawmaker’s post has sparked intense debate online, with supporters and critics of Kwankwaso exchanging heated opinions about the legacy of Sharia implementation in northern Nigeria and its impact on religious minorities.
Kwankwaso, who governed Kano State between 1999–2003 and 2011–2015, has yet to publicly respond to Moore’s accusations.
The development adds an international dimension to Nigeria’s ongoing discourse on religious tolerance, governance, and human rights, as the nation continues to battle complex security and sectarian challenges.
