Ex-presidential aide faults U.S. lawmaker over Kebbi schoolgirl abductions

Former presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad has criticised a comment by a U.S. lawmaker regarding Monday’s abduction of 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi State.

The lawmaker, Riley Moore, condemned the attack on Government Secondary School, Maga, in Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area, describing it as “horrific” and calling for prayers for the students and the school’s vice principal, who was killed during the invasion.

“Please join me in praying for the 25 girls who have been kidnapped and for the repose of the soul of their vice principal, who was killed,” Moore wrote on X on Tuesday. He added that the attack occurred in a “Christian enclave in Northern Nigeria” and urged the Nigerian government to do more to curb “rampant violence.”

Moore’s description of the community drew swift criticism from Nigerians who said it misrepresented the facts.

Former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad responded under the lawmaker’s post, stating that the incident did not occur in a Christian-majority area.

“While appreciating your concern and praying for our sisters, it is important to correct a crucial detail here, the attack did not occur in a Christian enclave,” Ahmad wrote. “It happened within a Muslim community, and the victims themselves were Muslims. This is precisely why we keep saying that even you, Americans, either do not understand the complexity of Nigeria’s insecurity challenges, or you are deliberately pushing unholy narratives that risk worsening our already fragile unity.”

The exchange comes amid ongoing claims by some U.S. officials and advocacy groups alleging “Christian genocide” in parts of Nigeria, claims that Nigerian authorities have repeatedly rejected as inaccurate and harmful.

The Kebbi school attack occurred in late Sunday night, when armed men stormed the premises, killing the vice principal, injuring staff members, and abducting 25 students.

The federal government has assured that it is working with security agencies to ensure the safe return of the abducted girls, stating that it “shares in the pain of the victims.”