{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://rileymoore.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-moore-applauds-president-trumps-decision-designate-nigeria-country", "Congressman Moore applauds President Trump\u2019s decision to Designate Nigeria a \u201cCountry of Particular Concern,\u201d will lead effort to investigate rampant Christian persecution", "2025-10-31", "2025", "2025-10", "Republican", "House", "WV", "Riley M. Moore", "M001235", "rileymoore.house.gov", "rileymoore", "https://rileymoore.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Riley M. Moore applauds President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) due to the alarming and ongoing persecution of Christians across the country. President Trump also asked Congressman Moore, alongside House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, to lead an investigation into the slaughtering of Christians in Nigeria.\n\nEarlier this month, Congressman Moore sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the Trump Administration to take \u201cimmediate action to address the systematic persecution and slaughter of Christians in Nigeria,\u201d highlighting the nation\u2019s growing reputation as \u201cthe deadliest place in the world to be a Christian.\u201d\n\nMore than 7,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria in 2025 alone\u2014an average of 35 per day\u2014with hundreds more kidnapped, tortured, or displaced by extremist groups such as Boko Haram, ISIS West Africa, and the Fulani militants. Reports indicate that between 50,000 and 100,000 Christians have been killed and more than 19,000 Christian churches have been attacked or destroyed since 2009. Data from Open Doors indicate that more Christians are killed every year in Nigeria than the rest of the world combined.\n\nPresident Trump previously designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern in 2020, but President Biden removed the designation in 2021.\n\nCongressman Moore issued the following statement:\n\n\u201cI want to sincerely thank President Trump for his incredible leadership and decisive action to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern. Nigeria has become ground zero for Christian martyrdom and I am proud to have been leading the effort in Congress to defend our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being slaughtered since I was first sworn into Congress. Nigeria is, by far, the deadliest country in the world to be a Christian.\n\nI have been calling for this designation since my first floor speech in April, where I highlighted the plight of Christians in Muslim majority countries. I then introduced H.Res. 594 in July to further draw attention to these atrocities against our brothers and sisters in Christ.\n\nMore than 7,000 Christians have been martyred this year alone\u2014an average of 35 every day. This designation is a critical first step in holding the Nigerian government accountable for engaging in and tolerating particularly severe violations of religious freedom, including doing nothing to stop mass killings targeting Christians and upholding its blasphemy laws that disproportionately target Christians.\n\nI am grateful that the President has asked Chairman Tom Cole and me to work through the Appropriations Committee to ensure that Nigeria receives the international attention, pressure, and accountability it urgently needs.\n\nThis CPC designation sends a clear message: the United States will not turn a blind eye as Christians are slaughtered, and we stand ready to protect our brothers and sisters in Christ worldwide.\u201d\n\nFor more on this issue, see Congressman Moore\u2019s previous work on Nigeria:\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019s first ever floorspeech, in which he highlighted the plight of Nigerian Christians;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019sletter calling for Secretary Marco Rubio to designate Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019sinterview with Laura Ingraham;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019sinterview with Maria Bartiromo;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019sinterview on Fox and Friends;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019sinterview with Stuart Varney;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019sinterview with Kayleigh McEnany;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019sinterview on RSBN;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019sinterview on Varney & Co;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019sinterview with Raymond Arroyo;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019sinterview with Mario Nawfal;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019sinterview on the LOOPcast;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019sinterview with Catholic Frequency;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019sinterview on TimCast\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019stweet highlighting the killing of a Nigerian pastor and kidnapping of 20 Nigerian Christians\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019stweet highlighting the Nigerian Army accusing a pastor of stoking division for warning of an impending attack that left a dozen Christians dead;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019stwitter thread highlighting the state of persecution in Nigeria and announcing his letter calling for Nigeria to be designated as a Country of Particular Concern;\n\n\u00b7 The Congressman\u2019stweet highlighting the massacre of Nigerian Christians on Palm Sunday;\n\n\u00b7The Congressman\u2019s speech at CPAC\u2019s Ending Christian Persecution Summit.\n\n###", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://rileymoore.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-moore-applauds-president-trumps-decision-designate-nigeria-country"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.286905888468027, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}