U.S. Congressman Riley Moore has criticised the Nigerian government’s handling of insecurity, saying many Nigerians no longer trust their leaders because the government repeatedly fails to respond when citizens call for help.

Moore made the remarks on Thursday during a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, which is examining former President Donald Trump’s move to redesignate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over alleged religious persecution and widespread insecurity.

According to Moore:

“The Nigerian people don’t trust their government. How can you trust a government that doesn’t show up when you ask it to?”

He cited a recent incident in Plateau State, where a pastor reportedly alerted authorities about an imminent attack within 24 hours, but Nigerian officials allegedly ignored the warning and instead dismissed the alert as “fake news.”

Moore stressed that the Nigerian government must work cooperatively with the United States to address rising insecurity, including terrorism, banditry, and religiously targeted attacks.

He is expected to meet with a delegation of senior Nigerian government officials to discuss both the country’s worsening security crisis and the ongoing CPC designation review.