Fresh controversy has erupted after a United States lawmaker accused Nigeria’s Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, of attempting to bribe a US official in a bid to influence international reporting on violence in Nigeria.
Kimberly Daniels, a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, made the allegation in a video shared on her official Facebook page, claiming the move was aimed at deflecting findings from a report by the United World Congress of Diplomats (UN-WCD).
According to Daniels, the alleged offer was intended to alter the narrative surrounding claims of targeted killings of Christians in parts of Nigeria, an issue that has drawn increasing global attention.
In the video, she stated that “a US elected official was offered money” by Matawalle to change the interpretation of the UN-WCD report, which she said raised concerns about violence in regions including Plateau, Benue, and Kaduna states.
Daniels, who also serves as chairperson of the UN-WCD, has previously called on President Bola Tinubu to remove Matawalle from office over alleged complicity in the reported violence.
She maintained that no amount of pressure would deter her from speaking out, insisting that the issue goes beyond politics and touches on human rights and accountability.
The allegations, however, have not been independently verified, and no supporting evidence was presented in the video at the time of publication.
As of now, Matawalle has not issued an official response to the claims, and Nigerian authorities have yet to comment on the development.
The situation adds another layer to ongoing debates around security challenges in Nigeria and how they are represented on the international stage, particularly in relation to religious and communal violence.
