A damning new report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has revealed that an estimated 30,000 armed Fulani militants are currently operating in clusters across Nigeria.
The report, released in May 2026 and titled “Nonstate Violators of Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Fulani Militants,” identifies these fragmented groups as some of the deadliest non-state actors in the country.
Operating in bands ranging from 10 to 1,000 fighters, these militants have waged coordinated campaigns across the Middle Belt and Southern regions, driving severe insecurity and exacerbating religious freedom violations.
The commission highlighted that violence linked to Fulani militants accounted for the highest number of deaths among Nigerian religious communities over the past year, outstripping casualties caused by organized insurgent groups and conventional criminal gangs.
Utilizing motorcycles, automatic weapons, and machetes, the militants have targeted vulnerable rural communities primarily at night to displace residents and seize land.
While the report notes that both Christian and Muslim communities have suffered devastating raids, killings, and kidnappings, it emphasizes that many attacks were intentionally synchronized with Christian holidays, such as Christmas and Easter, to maximize psychological terror.
The escalating violence has triggered a massive humanitarian crisis, displacing at least 1.3 million people across the Middle Belt into overcrowded, undersanctioned camps.
USCIRF documented a trail of recent atrocities, including a June 2025 assault in Benue State that claimed 200 lives, the notorious Yelwata massacre targeting Christian women and children, and a string of early 2026 attacks on churches and mosques alike.
These include the February 2026 abduction of a Catholic parish priest in Kaduna State and the simultaneous ransom-kidnapping of an imam and worshippers from a mosque in Plateau State, illustrating the far-reaching and indiscriminate nature of the crisis.
Compounding the tragedy, the report strongly criticized federal and state authorities for historically slow security responses, while noting that conflicting narratives—ranging from environmental degradation and land disputes to targeted religious persecution—have complicated intervention strategies.
However, the report acknowledges a recent surge in government action, heavily spurred by the U.S. government’s October 2025 designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern.”
In response, President Bola Tinubu officially designated violent armed groups and kidnappers as terrorists in December 2025, leading to significant military pushbacks in early 2026 that resulted in the rescue of hundreds of hostages and the neutralization of dozens of militants.
International pressure continues to mount as the crisis remains “intense, daily, and seemingly perpetual.” In February 2026, the U.S. Congress introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act, which proposes strict sanctions against organizations like the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria over alleged complicity in land invasions, despite the group’s fierce denials of harboring criminals.
Ultimately, USCIRF warned that until state and federal authorities can successfully implement long-term structural solutions—such as the 11-state ranching initiative launched in mid-2025—widespread displacement and severe violations of religious freedom will continue to plague central Nigeria.
