Zagazola Makama replies U.S. Congressman: Stop weaponising religion to deny Nigeria arms
By: Zagazola Makama
Security analyst and counterinsurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, has dismissed as false, baseless, and hypocritical the recent claims by U.S. Congressman Riley M. Moore alleging “systematic persecution and slaughter of Christians” in Nigeria.
Makama said the Congressman’s remarks were nothing but an orchestrated attempt to exploit religion as a political weapon, while disguising the real agenda to deny Nigeria access to weapons and military hardware needed to defeat terrorism.
This entire narrative of so-called Christian genocide is not only false but deliberately crafted to cripple Nigeria’s counterterrorism capacity. The same terrorists who attack churches also bomb mosques and kill Muslim villagers. They are not fighting for faith they are fighting against peace,” Makama said.
He noted that Moore’s claim of 7,000 Christians killed in 2025 was not supported by any verifiable evidence or credible international monitoring body, including the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, or even the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, which maintains real-time intelligence on Nigeria’s security situation.
“If the U.S. Embassy in Abuja with its vast intelligence network has never classified the violence in Nigeria as religious genocide, then where exactly did this Congressman get his statistics from? Certainly not from facts,” he said.
Makama said it was deeply disturbing that individuals in the U.S. Congress could be misled by propaganda designed to portray Nigeria as a country at war with its Christian population, when in fact, victims of insurgency and banditry cut across all religions and ethnicities.
He warned that blocking arms sales to Nigeria under the guise of human rights or religious concerns would directly strengthen the terrorists and make the U.S. Congress complicit in the killings they claim to condemn.
“When you deny Nigeria weapons to fight terror, you are helping the terrorists who get theirs through illegal back channels. That means the so-called human rights defenders in Congress are aiding mass murder by ensuring that innocent civilians remain defenceless,” Makama stated.
He also reminded the U.S. lawmaker that earlier this year, Washington itself admitted that American taxpayer money through USAID had found its way into the hands of terrorist-linked organizations in the Sahel, yet no one has been prosecuted.
“So before pointing fingers at Nigeria, the U.S. should first look inward. Their own agencies have admitted to indirectly funding terrorists, and yet, they continue to lecture other nations about accountability,” he said.
Makama described the Congressman’s statements as a dangerous attempt to sow religious division and mislead the international community into viewing Nigeria through a sectarian lens.
“Nigeria’s security crisis is not a Christian-versus-Muslim war. It is a fight between lawful citizens and violent extremists. Any attempt to twist it into a religious war is dishonest and deeply irresponsible,” he said.
He added that countless soldiers and civilians of both faiths have sacrificed their lives in defence of the country, and their bravery should never be undermined by political actors seeking to weaponise faith for foreign agendas.
“Those who peddle this false narrative are not friends of peace. They are knowingly promoting religious hatred and helping the enemies of Nigeria by trying to cut off its access to essential defence support,” Makama said.
He called on international partners to rely on verified intelligence, credible data, and first-hand reports from reputable organizations rather than politically motivated fabrications designed to damage Nigeria’s reputation.
“If the U.S. truly stands for global peace and religious freedom, it must stop empowering propaganda that fuels division and weakens nations fighting terrorism on the frontlines,” he concluded.
