An estimated 30,000 Fulani armed militants are actively operating across Nigeria, where their violence has become the leading cause of religiously motivated deaths, according to a new report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
The report, released in May, paints a worrying picture of worsening insecurity in the country, stating that “violence by Fulani militants caused the highest number of deaths among all religious communities in Nigeria over the last year,” surpassing attacks by organised insurgent groups and criminal gangs.
According to the USCIRF findings, the militants are “traditionally concentrating in the country’s northwest, then migrating down through the Middle Belt, and becoming increasingly active in the South.”
The report explains that while the attacks are often—but not exclusively—directed against Christians, the militants have also targeted Muslim communities.
“Fulani assailants have not spared Muslims, raiding herders’ cattle and violently attacking non-Fulani Muslim communities,” the report noted. “Furthermore, many militants have targeted Christian communities in the Middle Belt and, increasingly, the South, burning homes and churches as well as kidnapping, raping, and murdering.”
The report examines the complex communal dynamics between Muslims and Christians, detailing recent and ongoing religious freedom violations by violent Fulani actors.
It states that while many Fulani militant groups operate independently, others periodically coordinate with a wide range of allies, from conventional bandit gangs seeking financial enrichment to recognised terrorist organisations that advocate a violent interpretation of Islam.
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The militants operate in groups ranging from 10 to 1,000 members. While they lack a centralised leadership, some factions collaborate on attacks, often coordinating via radio and utilizing motorcycles and automatic weapons to rapidly hit several targets at once in rural, isolated areas.
“They often wield machetes and descend on vulnerable communities during the night, eliciting terror as a way to force victims to leave quickly and to achieve greater control of desired land,” the report added.
The Global Terrorism Index previously declared Fulani militants the fourth deadliest terrorist group in the world in 2014. The USCIRF report suggests their capacity for violence has only expanded in scope and lethality since then.
