President Bola Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Olusegun Dada, has criticised U.S. Congressman Riley Moore over his recent comments alleging persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Dada, known on the platform as Daddy D.O, called the U.S. lawmaker “ignorant” about Nigeria’s religious realities.
“Firstly, let me say, Congressman Riley, you are ignorant if not more ignorant than Ted Cruz about Nigeria,” Dada wrote.
He added that Nigeria is “a proud, sovereign nation built on the faith and resilience of its people,” stressing that “no faith is under siege, no community is excluded.”
“Our churches, mosques, and traditional shrines stand side by side — not as rivals, but as symbols of the unity that binds us,” Dada stated.
Dada’s comments came in response to a series of posts by Riley Moore on Monday, where the U.S. lawmaker described Nigeria as “the deadliest country in the world for Christians.”
Moore had urged U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over alleged religious persecution.
“Since Boko Haram’s insurgency in 2009, more than 50,000 Christians have been murdered and more than 5 million displaced,” Moore wrote, claiming that “at least 250 priests have been attacked or killed in the last decade” and that “more than 19,000 churches have been attacked or destroyed since 2009.”
He further alleged that “some state and federal officials” in Nigeria were complicit in attacks on Christians and cited instances of anti-blasphemy laws being enforced.
Moore’s post followed similar remarks by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, who in late September alleged that Nigerian officials were “ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists.”
Responding to both lawmakers, Dada maintained that their claims were unfounded and misrepresented Nigeria’s religious coexistence.
Dada also wrote ”I hope #TuckerCarlson can ask #tedcruz this line of questions again, but this time about Nigeria. Ted Cruz wanted the states to go to war with Iran, but he didn’t know the population or the cultural makeup of Iran. Same total ignorance about Nigeria”
