US Report Estimates 30,000 Armed Fulani Militants Operating Across Nigeria

Our Reporter 

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has estimated that about 30,000 armed Fulani militants are currently operating across Nigeria in groups ranging from 10 to 1,000 members.

The commission disclosed this in a May 2026 report titled, “Nonstate Violators of Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Fulani Militants,” where it described the armed groups as some of the deadliest non-state actors responsible for religious freedom violations in the country.

According to the report, attacks carried out by armed actors of Fulani ethnic background have worsened insecurity across Nigeria’s Middle Belt and Southern regions, leading to thousands of deaths, widespread displacement and heightened tensions among religious communities.

“Violence by Fulani militants caused the highest number of deaths among all religious communities in Nigeria over the last year as compared to attacks by organised insurgent groups and criminal gangs,” the commission stated.

USCIRF noted that while many of the attacks targeted Christian communities, Muslim communities had also suffered killings, kidnappings and raids linked to the militants.

The commission said the groups operate without a centralised command structure but sometimes 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.”

According to USCIRF, the militants often attack 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.

The commission said attacks by Fulani militants and other armed groups had displaced at least 1.3 million people across the Middle Belt, with many victims living in overcrowded camps lacking adequate sanitation and security.

The report highlighted several deadly incidents recorded in 2025 and early 2026, including attacks in Benue and Plateau states.

“One attack in Benue in June 2025 killed at least 200 people, including internally displaced persons living in a Catholic mission,” USCIRF stated.

The commission also referenced the Yelwata massacre, where more than 200 Christians, mostly women and children, were reportedly killed and over 3,000 displaced.

USCIRF further alleged that some attacks were deliberately timed to coincide with 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 stated.

It added that in February 2026, suspected Fulani militants reportedly 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 parish priest Father Nathaniel Asuwaye.

The report also documented attacks on Muslim communities, including the kidnapping of an imam and seven worshippers from a mosque in Plateau State in February 2026, with the abductors reportedly demanding a ₦16 million ransom.

According to USCIRF, Palm Sunday and Easter attacks in April 2026 also left dozens dead in 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.

The commission noted that differing narratives surrounding the violence had complicated efforts to fully determine the motives 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 report stated.

“In fact, multiple and overlapping factors, including religion in many cases, likely spur Fulani militants to attack communities or individuals.”

USCIRF criticised federal and state authorities for what it described as inadequate responses to the violence, noting that victims frequently accused security agencies of responding slowly to attacks.

The report added that some Christian advocacy groups had also alleged bias by security agencies in favour of Muslim communities during investigations and security operations.

According to the commission, governors from 11 Nigerian states launched an initiative in June 2025 to establish ranches for herders as part of efforts to reduce clashes over grazing routes and farmland.

At the federal level, USCIRF linked renewed government action to the October 2025 decision by the United States President 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.