Olushola Omogbehin
A report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, USCIRF, has reveaved that an estimated 30,000 armed Fulani militants are operating in Nigeria and responsible for worsening insecurity and religious freedom violations in several parts of the country.
Released on May 2026 and titled “Nonstate Violators of Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Fulani Militants,” the report sees the armed groups as the deadliest non-state actors responsible for violent attacks across the Middle Belt and Southern Nigeria.
The commission revealed that the group operates in clusters ranging from 10 to 1,000 fighters with coordinated assaults that have resulted to thousands of deaths, mass displacement and heightened religious tensions.
According to the report, attack by Fulani militants accounted for the highest number of deaths among religious communities in Nigeria in the past year, more than casualties attributed to organised insurgent groups and criminal gangs.
“Violence by Fulani militants caused the highest number of deaths among all religious communities in Nigeria over the last year compared to attacks by organised insurgent groups and criminal gangs,” the report stated.
USCIRF said that while the groups suffered central leadership structure, some factions occasionally collaborated with bandit networks and extremist organisations.
“These actors operate in a variety of contexts and with a multiplicity of likely aims and motivations. While many Fulani militant groups wage independent attacks, others periodically coordinate with a wide range of actors, from conventional bandit gangs seeking financial enrichment to recognised terrorist organisations that espouse violent interpretations of Islam.
“They often wield machetes and descend on vulnerable communities during the night, eliciting terror as a way to force victims to quickly leave and to achieve greater control of desired land,” the report added.
The report revealed that attacks by Fulani militants and other armed groups have so far displaced at least 1.3 million people across the Middle Belt, with many victims now living in overcrowded camps without adequate security and sanitation.
It mentioned a June 2025 attack in Benue State where about 200 persons, including internally displaced persons taking shelter in a Catholic mission, were said to be killed.
The report also referenced the Yelwata massacre in Benue State, where more than 200 Christians, mostly women and children, were allegedly killed, while over 3,000 others were displaced.
Importantly, USCIRF stated in the report that some attacks were deliberately carried out during Christian religious celebrations.
“Militant actors have often carried out operations during Christian holidays such as Christmas or Easter to further maximise the psychological impact,” the report noted.
In February 2026 for instance, the report revealed that suspected Fulani militants killed at least 32 persons in Niger State and attacked Holy Trinity Parish in the Kafanchan Diocese of Kaduna State, killing three persons and abducting 11 others, including the parish priest, Father Nathaniel Asuwaye.
According to USCIRF, armed men abducted an imam and seven worshippers from a mosque in Plateau State in February 2026 and later demanded a ransom of N16 million.
Palm Sunday and Easter attacks in April 2026 also left dozens dead across Plateau, Kaduna and Benue states.
“On Easter Sunday, Fulani militants reportedly killed five worshippers at two churches in Kaduna State while abducting 31 others,” the report stated.
As some analysts attached the violence to environmental pressures, land disputes and economic competition, others viewed the attacks as part of a broader campaign targeting non-Muslim communities.
“In fact, multiple and overlapping factors, including religion in many cases, likely spur Fulani militants to attack communities or individuals. Victims have long reported that security forces are consistently slow to respond to attacks on their communities,” USCIRF stated.
The commission also disclosed that governors from 11 states launched an initiative in June 2025 to establish ranches for herders as part of measures to reduce clashes over grazing routes and farmlands.
At the level of the federal government, the report linked renewed government actions to the October 2025 decision by the United States government under President Donald Trump to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over religious freedom violations.
Revealing further, USCIRF stated that Nigerian security agencies rescued 309 kidnapped victims in January 2026 during operations in Kogi and Kwara states, while 129 suspected Fulani militants were arrested and 55 others killed.
The report also drew attention to the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, which has faced criticism from some Christian leaders over alleged failure to curb militant activities and land invasions but the association denied any involvement in criminality.
“We do not support, condone, harbour, finance or protect any form of criminality, extremism or violence,” the association said, according to the report.
USCIRF disclosed that the US Congress introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 in February, proposing sanctions against the association over alleged involvement in severe religious freedom violations.
Despite ongoing security operations and peace-building initiatives, the commission warned that insecurity remained widespread across central Nigeria.
“As a result, central Nigeria remains entrenched in an intense, daily and seemingly perpetual crisis of insecurity,” the report concluded.
The commission added that the crisis was likely to continue “until the federal and several state governments create broader underlying conditions that are more conducive to the safe practice of religious freedom.”
