Video Shows US Lawmaker Urging Pardon for Jackson Jailed for Killing Fulani Militant in Self-Defence
- A US lawmaker urged Nigeria to pardon Sunday Jackson who was sentenced to death after claiming he acted in self defence
- Riley Moore questioned Jackson’s conviction and criticised the government’s failure to disarm armed groups in the Middle Belt
- The case reignited debate as Nigerians and rights observers raised concerns over justice and growing farmer-herder violence
A member of the United States House of Representatives, Riley Moore, has urged the Nigerian government to pardon Adamawa farmer Sunday Jackson, who is currently on death row for killing a herdsman during a 2015 confrontation.
Speaking on Thursday, November 21, at a US House hearing on President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, Moore argued that Jackson’s conviction failed to reflect the circumstances of the incident.
Source: UGC
“I would urge the Nigerian government to take a look at pardoning Sunday Jackson, who is an individual who was fighting for his own life, defending his life against one of these Fulani militants.
“That Fulani militant lost his life in that struggle, and now that person, Sunday Jackson, is facing the death penalty. Where is the justice in that?," Moore said.
Concerns over armed groups in the Middle Belt
Moore also raised broader concerns about insecurity in Nigeria, particularly in the Middle Belt where clashes between farmers and armed men have escalated over the years.
“But somehow, these Fulani militants operating in the Middle Belt region of the country, they’re all armed. Why hasn’t there been some type of move or campaign by the Nigerian government to disarm these militants? They have access to AK-47s and other small arms to slaughter Christians," he said.
He pressed US officials on whether the issue had been raised with Nigeria, arguing that disarmament would have “a serious impact” on curbing violence, Punch reported.
Details of Jackson’s conviction
Source: Twitter
Jackson was convicted for killing a herdsman, Buba Bawuro, during an altercation on his farm in Adamawa state in 2015.
He consistently maintained that he acted in self-defence, saying he was attacked and managed to disarm his assailant before the fatal incident.
After years in detention, he was sentenced to death by an Adamawa State High Court in 2021 for using the recovered weapon to stab the now-unarmed herdsman.
Despite widespread debate over the case, the Supreme Court on 7 March 2025 upheld the judgement, ruling that Jackson’s actions amounted to retaliation rather than self-defence, Vanguard reported.
Public reaction and calls for review
The ruling has attracted public concern, with many Nigerians questioning the court’s rejection of his self-defence claim and calling for a review of the case.
Moore’s intervention has reignited the conversation at the international level, with human rights observers noting that the case could further strain discussions around justice, security, and farmer-herder conflicts in Nigeria.
A public analyst, Ahmed Abubakar, while speaking with Legit.ng on Saturday, November 22, said:
"Look, Riley Moore is right. Hundreds have been kidnapped, they’re Catholic, and these terrorists don’t need to disarmed, they need to be eradicated, extinguished, terminated.
"I just find it odd that this dude from West Virginia, literally one of the most unimportant states, pretty much in the middle of America somewhere, himself a petty insignificant figure in US politics, seems to have more time and energy for us than his primary goals, which is representing his constituency over there.
"It’s not as if he serves a district with a large number of Nigerians or anything. So the whole thing doesn’t pass the smell test. But it is good that there is more attention being brought on the matter."
Alleged Christian genocide: US congressman meets Ribadu
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that United States Congressman Riley M. Moore met with Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser to President Bola Tinubu, and other senior members of the Nigerian government in Washington, D.C.
Moore and the Nigerian delegation discussed the alleged persecution of Christians and the ongoing terrorist threats in the country.
The US Congressman and Ribadu’s team looked at ways to strengthen cooperation and coordination between the United States and Nigeria to end the bloodshed.
Source: Legit.ng
