A United States lawmaker and a vocal voice against the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria, Riley Moore, has hailed the Senate passage of the Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to establish state police in the West African country, saying it would help states better protect citizens, particularly persecuted Christians.
Moore, who represents West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, stated this in a post on his X handle on Wednesday.
The lawmaker was reacting to the Nigerian Senate approval of the bill which seeks to decentralise policing by allowing states to establish their own police services alongside the Nigeria Police Force.
Moore, who had helped to draw international attention to attacks against Christians in Nigeria, said the reform was one he had advocated publicly and privately.
“I’m encouraged to see Nigeria’s Senate approve legislation to establish state-level police forces—a reform I’ve called for publicly and privately since I first started investigating the genocide against Christians in Nigeria.
“I can’t stress how critical this law that will empower states to protect their own citizens and reducing dependence on decision makers in Abuja is to the effort to defend persecuted Christians and address insecurity,” he wrote.
The U.S. lawmaker also commended President Bola Tinubu for backing the proposal but noted that the amendment must still secure the approval of at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly before it can take effect.
“President Tinubu deserves credit for pushing it forward, but now we need 2/3rds of the states to ratify before it will take effect,” he said.