USCIRF says 30,000 armed Fulani militants operating across Nigeria

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 disclosure was contained in the commission’s May 2026 report titled “Nonstate Violators of Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Fulani Militants.” The report described the militants as some of the deadliest non-state actors responsible for religious freedom violations in the country.

According to USCIRF, attacks linked to armed actors of Fulani ethnic background have intensified insecurity across Nigeria’s Middle Belt and Southern regions, resulting in thousands of deaths, mass displacement and worsening religious tensions.

“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 report stated.

The commission noted that many attacks targeted Christian communities, although Muslim communities had also experienced killings, kidnappings and raids.

USCIRF said the militant groups operate without centralised leadership 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 said.

“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 report stated that the militants frequently attack isolated rural communities at night, often arriving on motorcycles and armed with 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,” USCIRF stated.

According to the commission, attacks by Fulani militants and other armed groups have displaced at least 1.3 million people across the Middle Belt, forcing many victims into overcrowded camps with inadequate sanitation and security.

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