30,000 Armed Fulani Militants Operating Across Nigeria — US Commission Report

An estimated 30,000 armed Fulani militants are operating across Nigeria, the highest number of religious-community deaths in the country, according to a May 2026 report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The report says the militants operate in groups ranging from 10 to 1,000 members and have displaced approximately 1.3 million people in the Middle Belt region. Fulani militants were responsible for more religious-community fatalities than any organised insurgent group during the reporting period.

Mass Killings Documented

The report details several large-scale attacks, including the June 2025 massacre at a Catholic mission in Benue State where over 200 worshippers were killed. Plateau State also recorded significant fatalities from coordinated attacks by armed herdsmen.

The commission found that the violence has displaced entire communities in Benue, Plateau, Taraba, Kaduna, Nasarawa and southern Niger states. Many of the displaced are living in overcrowded camps with limited access to food, water and healthcare.

US Commission Findings

USCIRF is a bipartisan federal government commission that monitors religious freedom violations worldwide. Its May 2026 report highlights the intersection of communal violence, land disputes and religious persecution in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.

The report calls on the US government to press Nigerian authorities to protect religious communities and hold perpetrators accountable. It also recommends targeted sanctions against individuals implicated in the attacks.

Previous USCIRF reports have recommended that the US State Department designate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over religious freedom violations, though successive administrations have stopped short of the designation.

Sources: Punch, Guardian