…Says Central Nigeria Trapped in Concentric Cycle of Killings, Displacement, Terror
By Franklin Adole
Nigeria is facing what a United States government-backed report describes as an “intense, daily and seemingly perpetual crisis of insecurity,” driven largely by an estimated 30,000 armed Fulani militants operating across the country.
The alarming disclosure was contained in a May 2026 report released by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, USCIRF, titled “Nonstate Violators of Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Fulani Militants.”
According to the report, heavily armed Fulani militant groups have become some of the deadliest non-state actors in Nigeria, unleashing coordinated attacks, mass killings, kidnappings and widespread destruction across the Middle Belt and parts of Southern Nigeria.
USCIRF said the militants, operating in cells ranging from 10 to 1,000 fighters, have turned vast swathes of central Nigeria into killing fields, with rural communities repeatedly invaded in midnight raids marked by machete attacks, gunfire and arson.
“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.
The commission said the bloodshed has claimed thousands of lives, displaced at least 1.3 million people, and deepened sectarian tensions across the country.
According to the report, the militants often storm vulnerable villages on motorcycles under cover of darkness, wielding assault rifles and machetes to terrorise residents and force them off ancestral lands.
“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,” USCIRF said.
The report documented a series of gruesome attacks carried out in 2025 and early 2026, particularly in Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, and Niger states.
Among the deadliest incidents cited was the June 2025 massacre in Benue State, where at least 200 people, including internally displaced persons sheltering inside a Catholic mission, were reportedly killed.
USCIRF also highlighted the Yelwata massacre in Benue, in which more than 200 Christians, mostly women and children, were allegedly slaughtered, with over 3,000 others displaced.
The report said some attacks were strategically timed to coincide with Christian religious celebrations such as Easter and Christmas to maximise fear and psychological trauma.
“Militant actors have often carried out operations during Christian holidays such as Christmas or Easter to further maximise the psychological impact,” the commission noted.
In another incident referenced in the report, suspected Fulani militants reportedly killed at least 32 people in Niger State in February 2026 and attacked Holy Trinity Parish in the Kafanchan Diocese of Kaduna State, killing three worshippers and abducting 11 others, including parish priest, Father Nathaniel Asuwaye.
USCIRF said the violence has not spared Muslims.
The report disclosed that armed men abducted an imam and seven worshippers from a mosque in Plateau State in February 2026 before demanding a N16 million ransom.
Palm Sunday and Easter attacks in April 2026 also reportedly 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 added.
Despite years of bloodshed, the commission criticised Nigerian security agencies for what it described as slow and ineffective responses to attacks.
“Victims have long reported that security forces are consistently slow to respond to attacks on their communities,” USCIRF stated.
The report said conflicting narratives continue to surround the violence, with some analysts blaming climate pressures, grazing disputes, and economic tensions, while others see a broader ideological and religious agenda behind the attacks.
“In fact, multiple and overlapping factors, including religion in many cases, likely spur Fulani militants to attack communities or individuals,” the commission observed.
USCIRF also drew attention to accusations against the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria by some Christian groups over alleged failure to rein in violent elements linked to herders.
The association, however, denied any involvement in criminal activities.
“We do not support, condone, harbour, finance, or protect any form of criminality, extremism, or violence,” the association said, according to the report.
The commission linked renewed federal action against armed groups to the October 2025 decision of the administration of President Donald Trump to designate Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern over religious freedom violations.
It noted that President Bola Tinubu subsequently classified kidnappers and violent armed groups, including Fulani militants, as terrorists in December 2025.
USCIRF said Nigerian security agencies later rescued 309 kidnapped victims during operations in Kogi and Kwara states in January 2026, while 129 suspected Fulani militants were arrested and 55 others killed.
The report further disclosed that the United States Congress introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026, proposing sanctions against Miyetti Allah over alleged involvement in severe religious freedom abuses.
But despite ongoing military operations and peace-building efforts, the commission warned that Nigeria remains trapped in a relentless cycle of violence.
“As a result, central Nigeria remains entrenched in an intense, daily, and seemingly perpetual crisis of insecurity,” the report concluded.