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Claim: A Facebook user claimed that Riley Moore, a United States lawmaker, said he will recommend Nigeria’s division to America’s president, Donald Trump.
Verdict: FALSE. In the viral video, the lawmakers condemned attacks against Christians in Nigeria and promised to end the menace. However, he did not indicate any desire to advocate for Nigeria’s division.
Full Text
In 2025, different claims trailed the sudden interest of the United States government in Nigeria’s insecurity crises. Relying on data from the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), the Donald Trump-led administration threatened the Nigerian government with military actions, among other measures, in reaction to the viral ‘Christian Genocide’ claim.
A Facebook page called Dandolla shared a video (archived here) of Riley Moore, West Virginia’s second congressional district representative, addressing the United States (US) Congress. The post claimed the 45-year-old lawmaker said he’ll advise Trump to push for the division of Nigeria in response to the insecurity targeting Christian communities in the country.
The caption to the video was, “We’ll give Trump options on Nigeria this January. Rep. Riley Moore said. One option is breaking up Nigeria to create a safe zone for Christians.”
As of Jan. 19, 2026, the post had gained over 17,000 views, 804 reactions, and 119 comments. Since the video was posted on Jan. 18, 2026, 270 Facebook accounts have reshared it, and 25 users have bookmarked it.
The posts shared by other Facebook users can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here.
DUBAWA’s analysis of comments on Dandolla’s post revealed contradictory opinions about the claim’s authenticity.
For instance, Ajakaye David described the claim as the best solution. He wrote, “We are just saying that Nigeria is one. The northerners are completely different in all areas to other tribes.”
Author Wisdom also wrote in support, “That’s the only way. British amalgamation was for selfish and control reasons, just like oil and water. We chose peace.”
However, some Facebook users expressed doubts over the claim’s authenticity. Nwadinma Innocent said, “This ‘one option is breaking up Nigeria to create a safe zone for Christians,’ is he the one that said it?”
Richard Iorwuese also questioned, “Where in this speech did breaking Nigeria come up?”
The implication of the claim and the questions it generated prompted DUBAWA to fact-check it.
Verification
We used DUBAWA Audio, an AI-powered tool for detecting claims in audio files, to transcribe the one-minute, nine-second video. The transcription revealed that the parliamentarian did not mention any attempt to convince Trump to force Nigeria’s division in the video.
The transcripts on the video simply stated that his team will brief the White House this month on their findings and provide specific policy options to protect Nigerian Christians.
He said, “My colleagues and I will soon, this month [sic], we’re going to brief the White House on our investigation’s findings and provide the President with a series of options to help protect our brothers and sisters in Christ.”
However, he described Nigeria as the most dangerous country globally for Christians, citing extreme risks for those who profess their faith.
DUBAWA found the original video Moore uploaded on his YouTube channel. The video was culled from a Hearing on FoRB Violations Against Christians Abroad by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Jan. 15, 2026. In the video, which lasted for nine minutes and 50 seconds, Moore did not mention Nigeria’s division as a possible addition to the policy options his team will present to the American president.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s findings revealed that Riley Moore did not mention an intent to convince Donald Trump of Nigeria’s separation as a policy response against insecurity in the country. Therefore, the claim is false.
