Over 600,000 Christians In Benue Alone Now Living In IDP Camps — US Congressman Raises Alarm During Visit

More than 600,000 displaced Christians are sheltering in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Benue State, according to a grim account shared by United States Congressman, Riley M. Moore following a visit to the region.

Moore, a member of the US House of Representatives, representing West Virginia’s 2nd District, said he met with “dozens of Christians who were driven from their homes and subjected to horrific violence.” 

He described their testimonies as horrible, adding that they would remain with him “for the rest of my life.”

In a series of posts on his official X handle, Moore recounted multiple cases of extreme brutality allegedly carried out during attacks on villages.

According to him, one woman was forced to watch as armed assailants killed her husband and five children before she narrowly escaped with her unborn baby. 

Another survivor, he said, had her family murdered in front of her, after which attackers “ripped her baby from her womb.”

Moore also described meeting a man whose family was “hacked to death” before his own arm was permanently mangled in the assault.

“These Christians should be able to live in their ancestral homeland without fear,” Moore wrote, condemning what he described as “genocidal violence” targeting rural Christian communities.

He warned that the scale of displacement in Benue alone signals a deepening humanitarian crisis and called for greater international attention to the plight of survivors now living in crowded, under-resourced IDP camps.

The congressman also shared photographs from his visit, showing victims of the violence and the conditions inside the camps.

Authorities in Nigeria and international rights groups have long documented recurrent attacks on farming communities across the Middle Belt, though casualty figures and the identity of perpetrators often remain contested. 

Moore’s account adds to growing calls from foreign lawmakers, humanitarian advocates, and local leaders for urgent intervention to protect vulnerable populations and address the root causes of the violence.