Christian farming communities under siege as US report names Fulani militants Nigeria's deadliest threat

JOHANNESBURG — An estimated 30,000 mostly Muslim Fulani militants are operating successful Nigeria, causing "worsening insecurity and spiritual state violations," according to an influential caller report.

The report, by the U.S. Commission connected International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), states "violence by Fulani militants caused the highest fig of deaths among each spiritual communities successful Nigeria implicit the past year, arsenic compared to attacks by organized insurgent groups and transgression gangs."

The Fulanis, alleged herders of livestock, have, according to the USCIRF report, "targeted Christian (farming) communities successful the Middle Belt and, increasingly, the South, burning homes and churches arsenic good arsenic kidnapping, raping, and murdering."

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Funerals were held for astir 27 Christians reportedly killed by Islamist Fulani tribesmen successful Bindi village, Plateau State, Nigeria, connected July 28, 2025. (Christian Solidarity International)

But a erstwhile counterterrorism adept astatine the State Department told Fox News Digital that the benignant of strikes the U.S., moving with Nigerian authorities forces, person precocious carried retired successful Nigeria’s North against Islamist violent organizations specified arsenic Boko Haram and Islamic State, wouldn’t enactment against the Fulanis successful the predominantly Christian cardinal areas of the country.

Sterling Tilley, erstwhile acting manager of the Bureau of Counterterrorism, who has worked successful Nigeria for the State Department, said that the U.S. "militarily dealing with the farmer-herder struggle is not advisable due to the fact that it is apt to bring much instability successful the country." Tilley, present manager of the Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship astatine Howard University, added, "There are immoderate steps that tin beryllium taken to quell the violence, but determination indispensable beryllium Nigerian governmental volition to bash so."

Young radical protestation against the killings pursuing a deadly onslaught by Fulani militants connected Christian-majority villages successful Benue state, that near 218 radical dormant and 6,000 displaced. The protestation took spot successful Benue state, connected June 2025. (Open Doors UK)

This week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth commented connected the caller strikes ordered by President Donald Trump connected Nigeria, saying, "Maybe a twelvemonth ago, [the president] heard the telephone of Nigerian Christians who were being targeted and killed by ISIS. And helium said, 'Pete, I privation the War Department to absorption connected ensuring that we bash everything we tin to support those Christians.'"

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Christians marque up astir 48% of Nigeria’s population. Fulani militants, the USCIRF study stated, "have often carried retired operations during Christian holidays specified arsenic Christmas oregon Easter to further maximize the intelligence impact, terrifying those communities from gathering to observe oregon worship. During attacks, assailants sometimes utter slogans with spiritual connotations, specified arsenic "Allahu Akbar" (Arabic for "God is great"). 

But, according to the report, Muslims are being attacked too. "Fulani assailants person not spared Muslims, raiding herders’ cattle and violently attacking non-Fulani Muslim communities," the study added.

Coffins get astatine Ibrahim Babanginda Square successful Makurdi, Benue State, connected Jan. 11, 2018, during a ceremonial work for victims of clashes betwixt Fulani herdsmen and natives of Guma and Logo districts. (Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP)

"Violence astatine the hands of militants from the Fulani people acold outnumbers unit from each different militant groups specified arsenic Boko Haram oregon ISWAP (Islamic State West African Province)," Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK & Ireland, an enactment that highlights the persecution of Christians, told Fox News Digital.  

While her enactment was not portion of the report, she said, "My bosom has been breached arsenic I person heard stories from women and men who person seen their beloved household members butchered successful beforehand of them oregon carried disconnected into a beingness of slavery." 

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Fulani moslem men commune successful Masallacin Shehu Mosque, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria, connected April 24, 2019.  (Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images)

Blyth added: "The concern is complicated, and arsenic the study concludes, it is excessively simplistic to accidental each perpetrators are religiously motivated. What is undisputable is that Christians are highly susceptible and often the victims, paying the terms successful blood. They desperately request extortion and, for hundreds of thousands driven from their homes, the accidental to heal and rebuild their lives."

The USCIRF study besides stated, "Criticism of responses to Fulani militant unit from national and authorities authorities has often described their responses arsenic unsatisfactory astatine champion and complicit astatine worst."

Tilley told Fox News Digital that elections are to beryllium held successful Nigeria adjacent year, and "the Fulani bash person sizeable governmental power arsenic a voting block. Thus, the Nigerian authorities seems reluctant to instrumentality actions indispensable to quell the unit for fearfulness that they could suffer their basal of enactment successful the North and Middle Belt."

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Fox News Digital reached retired to the Nigerian authorities for comment, but did not person a effect by work time.