![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot_18-11-2025_44728_www.bing_.com_.jpeg?fit=718%2C481&ssl=1\")
Nigeria is constitutionally secular, but 12 northern states enforce Sharia law alongside civil law. Past cases have drawn global outrage, including the 2020 sentencing of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu in Kano State for alleged blasphemy. International watchdogs argue such laws undermine Nigeria\u2019s constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moore also issued a warning on his official X account, urging Nigeria not to test the resolve of the United States under President Donald Trump. He said Washington would not ignore reports of Christian persecution, describing it as \u201catrocity that worsens every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tinubu responded by reaffirming that religious tolerance remains central to Nigeria\u2019s national identity. \u201cNigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths,\u201d he said. He pledged that his administration would continue to work with the United States and international partners to safeguard communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Public reaction has been sharply divided. Supporters of Tinubu argue that the president is right to stress Nigeria\u2019s constitutional protections, saying Moore\u2019s comments exaggerate the situation and risk painting Nigeria unfairly as intolerant. Critics inside Nigeria, including rights activists, counter that Moore\u2019s remarks reflect realities in northern states where Sharia law is enforced. Civil society groups warn that dismissing these concerns undermines trust and leaves minorities vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the United States, human rights advocates welcomed Moore\u2019s comments, saying they bring international attention to Christian persecution in Nigeria. Congressional debate is expected to intensify, with lawmakers preparing to spotlight religious freedom in Africa. Critics of Moore, however, caution that framing Nigeria as complicit could strain relations, arguing that engagement and support for reform are more constructive than public confrontation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exchange underscores growing tension between Washington and Abuja over human rights, as U.S. lawmakers spotlight persecution cases while Nigeria\u2019s government insists it remains committed to constitutional protections and religious freedom. Analysts say the dispute highlights a broader challenge: balancing Nigeria\u2019s constitutional framework with regional religious laws, while managing international pressure from allies who view blasphemy prosecutions as violations of fundamental rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON (FN) \u2014 A U.S. congressman, Riley Moore has accused Nigerian President Bola Tinubu of misrepresenting the state of religious freedom in his country, pointing to blasphemy laws in northern states where minorities face severe penalties, including death sentences. Rep. Riley Moore said Tinubu\u2019s assurances of tolerance \u201cdo not match what is happening on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":24688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5,18,3],"tags":[1851,663,522,1854,1853,146,526,1850,1852],"class_list":["post-24685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-international","category-lifestyle","category-naija-news","tag-blasphemy-laws","tag-bola-tinubu","tag-christian-persecution","tag-fulani-conflict","tag-minority-rights","tag-nigeria","tag-religious-freedom","tag-riley-moore","tag-sharia-law"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Riley-Moore.jpg?fit=800%2C532&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24685"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24690,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24685\/revisions\/24690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}