A United States lawmaker, Riley Moore, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of making “completely false” statements about the killing and persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

Moore said the president’s recent denial of targeted violence was aimed at protecting his political interests.

Speaking during an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Moore rejected Tinubu’s claim that Nigeria is not a religiously intolerant country.

He insisted that several states still enforce blasphemy laws that endanger Christians.

“Unfortunately, that is completely false,” Moore said. “There are states in Nigeria that have blasphemy laws.

People are facing the death penalty for blasphemy against Islam. I know President Tinubu is in a difficult position, and trying to protect his interests. But they are complicit to some degree for making statements like this.”

Moore referenced the case of Sunday Jackson, a Christian farmer from Adamawa, who was sentenced to death after defending himself from an armed herdsman.

The development comes ahead of a U.S. congressional hearing scheduled for Thursday to debate what lawmakers describe as widespread Christian persecution in Nigeria.

The session will examine recent killings, displacement, and reported attacks by armed groups across several states.

The hearing will be chaired by Congressman Chris Smith, head of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and a long-standing critic of the Nigerian government’s handling of religious violence

. Smith previously pushed for sanctions against individuals linked to attacks and recommended that Fulani-ethnic militias be classified under the Entities of Particular Concern (EPC).

Senior U.S. officials including Jonathan Pratt of the Bureau of African Affairs and Jacob McGee of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour are expected to testify. A second panel will feature leading global religious-freedom advocates and Nigerian church leaders.

Meanwhile, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has alleged that 99 Christians were killed in Nigeria between October 28 and November 11. The organisation also reported 114 kidnappings within the same period, blaming jihadist militant groups for the attacks.

The group’s findings were signed by its head, Emeka Umeagbalasi, alongside human rights lawyers Joy Igboeli and Ogochukwu Obi.

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The United States military has drawn up contingency plans for potential strikes in Nigeria following a directive from President Donald Trump.

According to a report by the New York Times, the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has submitted operational options to the Department of War at the request of Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The plans include three levels of engagement — heavy, medium, and light — designed to allow for a controlled escalation of U.S. involvement.

Under the “heavy option,” the U.S. could deploy an aircraft carrier group to the Gulf of Guinea and use fighter jets or long-range bombers to strike targets in northern Nigeria. The “medium option” involves drone strikes on militant camps and convoys, while the “light option” focuses on joint operations supporting Nigerian forces against Boko Haram and other insurgent groups.

Military officials told the newspaper that the plans aim to neutralize Islamist militants, protect Christian communities, and end the prolonged insurgency in Nigeria’s north.

However, concerns have been raised about the feasibility of these plans, especially since U.S. forces vacated drone bases in Agadez and Niamey, Niger, earlier this year—facilities now occupied by Russian troops.

Last week, President Trump accused the Nigerian government of allowing the “mass slaughter” of Christians, labeling the country a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) and suspending arms sales and technical assistance to Abuja. The claim has been denied by Nigerian officials.

Trump, however, maintained that any U.S. action would be “fast, vicious, and sweet,” declaring that America would not “stand by while atrocities are happening.”

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee has backed the president’s stance, describing Nigeria as “the most dangerous nation on Earth to follow Christ” and urging stronger action against religious persecution.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s government continues to reject accusations of religiously motivated killings, insisting that ongoing insecurity stems from terrorism, banditry, and communal conflicts rather than targeted persecution.

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