United States Congressman Riley Moore has welcomed the reported arrest of Mahmoud Adam, a Plateau State community leader whom the Republican lawmaker described as an alleged terrorist leader linked to attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria.

Moore, in a post on X on Saturday, said the reported arrest demonstrated that security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States was producing results.

“This is great news for Christians in Nigeria,” Moore said, describing Adam as a “radical Islamic Fulani terrorist leader” whom he alleged was responsible for the killings of “countless Christians.”

He also credited the Nigerian government for the reported arrest and linked the development to efforts by the US Congress and the administration of President Donald Trump to strengthen security cooperation with Nigeria.

“The Nigerian government deserves credit for making this arrest, and it’s clear that Congress and the Trump admin’s efforts to defend Christians are making a positive difference,” Moore said.

According to a report published by the US-based Daily Caller, Adam was arrested in the early hours of September 12 at his compound in Plateau State.

The publication described him as a prominent Fulani community leader and alleged that he was secretly leading the Fulani Ethnic Militia, which it linked to attacks in Plateau and other parts of Nigeria’s Middle Belt.

The report cited a former US intelligence officer specialising in Islamist terrorism and Nigerian journalist Masara Kim, who has reported alleged links between Adam and deadly attacks in Plateau State.

Nigerian media outlets subsequently reported the alleged arrest, but details surrounding the operation and the specific allegations against Adam have not been fully disclosed publicly by Nigerian security authorities.

Punch reported that the circumstances surrounding Adam’s detention and the allegations against him remained subject to official clarification.

The allegations against Adam should be distinguished from an established criminal conviction or a formal public finding by Nigerian authorities.

Reports have described him both as a Fulani community leader and as a person allegedly connected to violent groups. The Daily Caller report also contained allegations from a whistleblower concerning Adam’s alleged contacts with senior Nigerian officials and military figures. Those claims have not been independently established in the publicly available reporting.

Photographs purporting to show Adam with political and military figures have also circulated online, prompting calls for further investigation.

The reports have also generated controversy because of allegations concerning Senator Shehu Buba, who has previously faced accusations of links to criminal networks and has denied such allegations. The claims surrounding the senator and Adam remain separate from the reported arrest itself and should not be treated as proof of wrongdoing.

Moore has been a prominent US political voice on the security situation affecting Christian communities in Nigeria.

In February, he met Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang in Washington and said he remained committed to working with the Nigerian government to address security challenges and the protection of Christians and other vulnerable groups.

In April, Moore also warned that Washington could take a more direct role in Nigeria’s security crisis if Nigerian authorities failed to address attacks against Christians. He has repeatedly described the violence in parts of Nigeria as persecution of Christians.

The Nigerian government has previously rejected descriptions of the country’s insecurity as a campaign targeting Christians alone, maintaining that armed groups have attacked Nigerians across religious and ethnic lines.

The reported arrest comes amid increased security cooperation between Abuja and Washington over terrorism and attacks affecting communities in Nigeria.

Moore has previously advocated stronger US engagement with Nigeria, while the two governments have continued discussions and cooperation on counterterrorism and intelligence matters.

For now, the reported arrest of Adam has attracted political attention in both countries, but further official information is needed to establish the precise allegations against him, the evidence supporting them and the circumstances surrounding his detention.

Authorities have yet to publicly provide a comprehensive account of the case in the sources reviewed.