By Ebere Inyama
(ABUJA, Nigeria)–Following persistent violent attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has published a report exposing the role of the Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) in the deteriorating religious freedom conditions in Nigeria.
In the report captioned “Non-state violators of religious freedom in Nigeria”, published in May, 2026, USCIRF, an independent, bipartisan legislative branch agency established by the U.S. Congress, stated that violence by Fulani militants caused the highest number of deaths among all religious communities in Nigeria over the last year.
“In recent years, armed actors from a Fulani ethnic background have perpetrated some of the most visible and deadly attacks on religious communities—often but not exclusively against Christians—in Nigeria”, 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 recognized terrorist organizations that espouse a violent interpretation of Islam”, the USCIRF report continued.
“These Fulani militant attacks, among those of other actors, have forced at least 1.3 million people in the Middle Belt off their land and into overcrowded, unsanitary, and unsafe conditions in displacement camps”, the report added.
Who are the Fulanis?
USCIRF described the Fulani tribe as a Muslim-majority ethnic group largely concentrated in northern Nigeria and other adjacent areas in West Africa, representing approximately six percent (or 14.5 million) of Nigeria’s total population and comprising about 30,000 militias migrating down through the Middle Belt, and becoming increasingly active in
the South.
According to USCIRF, herding is an important part of many Fulani people’s livelihoods and identities and this has exposed them to poverty.
USCIRF further stated that each group of Fulani militants consists of anywhere from 10 to 1,000 members, adding that “Fulani-led land invasions and other violent assaults has severely disrupted the lives, livelihood, and ability to worship of many Christian and Muslim farmers while triggering their mass displacement and depriving them of their lands.”
Testimonies by victims of Fulani violence
Speaking during an interview with TruthNigeria, a native of Ankwa Ward in Kachia county of Kaduna state, Mr. Jerry Peter, said he was kidnapped by the Fulani Ethnic Militia on November 1, 2025, along the Kachia–Kafanchan road in Kaduna state.
Peter said he was kept in a hostage camp in Rijana forest for 2 months and was freed after his family paid the equivalent of $5,806 in ransom to his abductors.
Earlier in May 2025, a resident of Plateau state, Mr. Wesley Jacobs, told Arise TV how he witnessed a violent attack by Fulani militias in May 2025 that left at least, 100 people dead.
Nigerian government’s response
Victims of religious violence in Nigeria have long reported that Nigerian security forces are consistently slow to respond to attacks on their communities, according to USCIRF.
“Some Christian advocates have continued to suggest that security forces responding to or investigating attacks routinely show favoritism toward Muslim communities”, while “local governments have similarly failed to communicate or coordinate with victims and targeted religious communities,” USCIRF stated in its report.
Also stated in USCIRF’s May 2026 report is that government sources often point to the issue of land use rights as the primary catalyst of Fulani-led violence against farming communities—thereby dismissing any religious role in such violence.
U.S Congress takes a bold step
In February 2026, the U.S. Congress introduced a bill, the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026, which included Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria ( MACBAN) as an entity on which the U.S. Departments of State and the Treasury should impose targeted sanctions for its alleged role in perpetrating severe religious freedom violations.
The same month, a congressional report to the White House outlined actions
that the U.S. and Nigerian governments can take to end the persecution of Christian communities and address persistent security challenges in Nigeria.
Security expert speaks
In an earlier interview with TruthNigeria, a Nigerian security expert from the Southern Kaduna region, Col. (retired) Hassan Stan-Labo warned against underestimating the capacity of the Fulani militia.
“We should never make the mistake of diminishing the status of these fighters as ‘rag-tag criminal elements’ because they are well trained and groomed in their given task with a requisite built up resilience to match,” said Stan-Labo.
“They are jihadists with an Islamization mission,” he added.
Col. Stan-Labo’s stark assessment reflects growing concerns that the violence gripping most parts of north – central Nigeria has taken on an ethnic and religious dimension, driven by Islamist extremist ideologies.
Conclusion
USCIRF concluded its report by stating that “since the United States’ CPC designation in October 2025 and attendant bilateral security discussions with Nigeria, armed Fulani actors have continued to carry out large-scale incursions onto Christian farmers’ agricultural lands, violent raids on Christian and Muslim religious sites, and kidnappings of laity and leaders from both religions”.
“As a result, central Nigeria remains entrenched in an intense, daily, and seemingly perpetual crisis of insecurity—a crisis that is likely to persist until the federal and several state governments create broader underlying conditions that are more conducive to the safe practice of religious freedom.”
Ebere Inyama reports on conflict for TruthNigeria.
