A new report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) alleges that armed Fulani militant groups have carried out widespread killings, church attacks, abductions and violent land invasions targeting Christian and Muslim communities across Nigeria.
The report, titled “Nonstate Violators of Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Fulani Militants,” was released in May. USCIRF estimated that around 30,000 armed Fulani militants were responsible for some of the “most visible and deadly attacks on religious communities”.
According to SaharaReporters, Fulani militants are currently operating across Nigeria’s North-West and Middle Belt regions and are spreading into southern parts of the country.
USCIRF said militant groups frequently attacked isolated rural communities using motorcycles, firearms and machetes. The report said attacks often took place at night in order to terrorise residents and force them from their ancestral lands.
“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 organized insurgent groups and criminal gangs,” the report stated.
The report said militants were responsible for displacing more than 1.3 million people from the Middle Belt region alone through the burning of homes and churches. It also accused militants of abducting religious leaders, raping women and killing predominantly Christian worshippers.
USCIRF alleged that many attacks deliberately coincided with Christian celebrations such as Christmas and Easter in order to maximise psychological fear among worshippers.
“During attacks, assailants sometimes utter slogans with religious connotations, such as ‘Allahu Akbar,’” the report said.
In 2025, Texas Senator Ted Cruz introduced legislation aimed at combating Christian persecution in Nigeria. Cruz said his “Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025” was intended to hold officials accountable following reports that authorities were enabling Islamist jihadist violence and enforcing blasphemy laws.
As Premier Christian News previously reported, extremist groups and armed militias have killed more than 52,000 Christians across Nigeria. More than 20,000 churches, seminaries and Christian institutions have also reportedly been destroyed in the country, whose population of more than 220 million is roughly evenly split between Christians and Muslims.
USCIRF warned that attacks by Fulani militants on churches, mosques, farmlands and rural communities were likely to continue unless Nigerian authorities intervened.