A United States congressman, Riley Moore, has stated that the US and Nigeria are close to reaching a strategic security agreement aimed at addressing terrorism and genocide against Christians by those he described as the radical Fulani Muslims in the Middle Belt.

Moore, who disclosed this yesterday night in a post on his X account, noted that recent discussions with the Nigerian authorities had recorded progress on the country’s security challenges.

A US congressional delegation led by Moore had last week concluded a fact-finding mission to Nigeria over allegations of Christian genocide.

The team was expected to brief President Donald Trump by the end of this month.

The delegation, comprising five members of Congress, arrived in Nigeria last Sunday and visited internally displaced persons, survivors of terrorist attacks, Christian communities and leaders, as well as traditional rulers, in Benue State.

They also met with the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).

Moore said the delegation travelled across parts of Benue State in armoured vehicles due to security concerns and met Catholic and Protestant leaders, bishops, and community heads to gather what he described as “ground truth.”

Moore, last Wednesday, shared the accounts of violence against Christian communities in the state, recounting what he said he was told during a visit to camps for internally displaced persons.

Writing on X, Moore said, while in the Middle Belt state, he met “dozens of Christians who were driven from their homes and subjected to horrific violence and now live in IDP camps.”

According to him, those he spoke with described attacks that left entire families dead and forced survivors to flee their villages.

“They told harrowing stories that will remain with me for the rest of my life,” Moore wrote.

He cited the case of one woman who “was forced to watch as they killed her husband and five children. She and her unborn child barely escaped.”

Moore added that another woman told him that her family “was murdered in front of her and her baby was ripped from her womb.”

The US congressman also described the testimony of a man who said “his family was hacked to death in front of his eyes, and his arm was permanently mangled.”

Moore revealed that Trump had tasked him and the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Tom Cole, to compile a comprehensive report on the situation.

In his last night’s post, Moore said the proposed framework would focus on combating extremist groups operating in the North-east, including Boko Haram and ISIS-linked factions.

He said the talks also covered violence in the Middle Belt region.

Moore described the Middle Belt violence as genocide against Christians by the radical Fulani Muslims.

The federal government has consistently insisted that the country’s security challenges are not driven by religion.

Moore wrote: “We did have positive conversations with the Nigerian government, and I believe we are close to a strategic security framework to address both the ISIS and Boko Haram threat in the North-east, as well as the genocide against Christians by the radical Fulani Muslims in the Middle Belt.

“The report that I will present to @POTUS outlines paths to work with the Nigerian government to end the slaughter of our brothers and sisters in Christ.”

The congressman did not provide details on when the framework would be finalised or the nature of US involvement.

Trump had in October designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged persecution of Christians.

The federal government has consistently disputed this claim, insisting that insecurity in the country has no religious dimension. (THISDAY)