Noah Wulf, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
A recent report released by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has alleged that about 30,000 armed Fulani militants are currently operating across Nigeria, contributing heavily to rising insecurity and religious freedom violations.
The findings were contained in a May 2026 report titled “Nonstate Violators of Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Fulani Militants.”
The document described the armed groups as some of the most dangerous non-state actors active in the country’s Middle Belt and southern regions.
According to the report, the militants operate in scattered factions ranging from small cells of about 10 fighters to larger groups with up to 1,000 members.
Despite lacking a unified command structure, some factions reportedly collaborate with criminal gangs and terrorist organisations.
The commission stated that attacks attributed to Fulani militant groups caused more deaths among religious communities in Nigeria over the past year than those linked to several insurgent and criminal groups.
The report alleged that the attackers often raid vulnerable rural communities at night using motorcycles, assault rifles, and machetes, forcing residents to flee while taking over farmlands and settlements.
It further revealed that the violence has worsened the humanitarian crisis in affected regions, with an estimated 1.3 million people displaced across the Middle Belt.
Many displaced residents are reportedly living in overcrowded internally displaced persons camps with inadequate food, sanitation, and security.
While many of the reported attacks targeted Christian communities, especially during religious celebrations such as Christmas and Easter, the report stressed that Muslim communities have also suffered kidnappings, killings, and violent raids.
The document highlighted several deadly incidents recorded over the past year, including an attack in Benue State in June 2025, where at least 200 people, including displaced persons sheltering in a Catholic mission, were reportedly killed.
Another incident cited in the report was the Yelwata massacre in Benue State later in 2025, where over 200 Christians, mainly women and children, allegedly lost their lives, while thousands of residents were displaced.
In February 2026, suspected militants reportedly killed 32 people in Niger State. During the same period, attackers allegedly invaded the Holy Trinity Parish in the Kafanchan Diocese of Kaduna State, killing three people and abducting 11 others, including a priest.
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