An estimated 30,000 armed Fulani militants are currently operating across Nigeria in groups ranging from 10 to 1,000 members, according to a May 2026 report released by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
The report described the militants as some of the deadliest non-state actors responsible for religious freedom violations in the country, particularly across the Middle Belt and parts of Southern Nigeria.
Titled “Nonstate Violators of Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Fulani Militants,” the report said attacks by armed actors of Fulani ethnic background had intensified insecurity, leading to thousands of deaths, mass displacement and heightened tensions among religious communities.
According to the commission, violence linked to Fulani militants accounted for the highest number of deaths among religious communities in Nigeria over the past year, surpassing casualties caused by organised insurgent groups and criminal gangs.
The report noted that while many attacks targeted Christian communities, Muslim communities had also experienced raids, killings and kidnappings.
USCIRF stated that the groups do not operate under a centralised leadership structure but often collaborate with criminal gangs and extremist organisations.
“These actors operate in a variety of contexts and with a multiplicity of likely aims and motivations,” the report stated.
“While many Fulani militant groups wage independent attacks, others periodically coordinate with a wide range of other actors, from conventional bandit gangs seeking financial enrichment to recognised terrorist organisations that espouse a violent interpretation of Islam.”
The commission said militants frequently attacked isolated rural communities at night using motorcycles, automatic weapons and machetes.
“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.
According to USCIRF, attacks by Fulani militants and other armed groups have displaced at least 1.3 million people across the Middle Belt, with many victims now living in overcrowded camps lacking proper sanitation and security.
The report highlighted several deadly attacks recorded in 2025 and early 2026, including mass killings in Benue State and Plateau State.
“One attack in Benue in June 2025 killed at least 200 people, including internally displaced persons living in a Catholic mission,” the commission said.
USCIRF also referenced the massacre in Yelwata, where more than 200 Christians, mostly women and children, were reportedly killed and over 3,000 displaced.
The report said some attacks were deliberately timed to coincide with Christian religious celebrations such as Christmas and Easter to maximise psychological impact.
In February 2026, suspected Fulani militants reportedly killed at least 32 people in Niger State and attacked Holy Trinity Parish in the Kafanchan Diocese of Kaduna State, killing three people and abducting 11 others, including parish priest Father Nathaniel Asuwaye.
USCIRF also documented kidnappings targeting both churches and mosques. The report stated that armed men abducted an imam and seven worshippers from a mosque in Plateau State in February 2026, demanding a ransom of N16 million.
According to the report, Palm Sunday and Easter attacks in April 2026 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.
USCIRF noted that conflicting narratives surrounding the violence had complicated efforts to determine the exact motivations behind the attacks.
“Some observers have argued that environmental and economic factors are the driving force behind Fulani militants’ acts of violence, while others have suggested that these actors are engaged in a concerted campaign of outright genocide against non-Muslims, especially Christians,” the commission stated.
“In fact, multiple and overlapping factors, including religion in many cases, likely spur Fulani militants to attack communities or individuals.”
The commission criticised federal and state authorities for what it described as inadequate responses to the violence, noting that victims frequently accused security agencies of delayed responses to attacks.
It also stated that some Christian advocacy groups alleged bias by security agencies in favour of Muslim communities during investigations and security operations.
The report further noted that governors from 11 states launched an initiative in June 2025 to establish ranches for herders in an effort to reduce clashes over grazing routes and farmland.
At the federal level, USCIRF linked renewed government action to the October 2025 decision by Donald Trump to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over religious freedom violations.
Following the designation, President Bola Tinubu reportedly classified kidnappers and violent armed groups, including Fulani militants, as terrorists in December 2025.
The report added that security agencies rescued 309 hostages during operations in Kogi and Kwara states in January 2026, arresting 129 suspected Fulani militants and killing 55 others.
USCIRF also highlighted growing scrutiny of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, which has faced allegations from Christian leaders over alleged failure to stop militant violence and land invasions.
However, the association denied supporting criminal activities.
“We do not support, condone, harbour, finance, or protect any form of criminality, extremism or violence,” the group said, according to the report.
The commission further disclosed that the US Congress introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 in February, proposing sanctions against MACBAN over allegations of involvement in severe religious freedom violations.
Despite ongoing security operations and peace initiatives, USCIRF warned that violence 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 persist until federal and state governments created conditions more conducive to the safe practice of religious freedom.
