U.S. Says Violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt Is Not Solely Religious, 1.3 Million Displaced

Sunday Ehigiator

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has stated that violent attacks by Fulani militants in Nigeria are not driven solely by religion but by a mix of motives.

In a May 2026 report titled “Non-state Violators of Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Fulani Militants,” the U.S. acknowledged that the violence has impacted both Christians and Muslims.

The report notes that 1.3 million Nigerians have been displaced in the Middle Belt, and while Christian communities have frequently been targeted, Muslim communities have also suffered killings, kidnappings, and attacks on religious sites.

The USCIRF examined the role of Fulani militant groups in worsening religious freedom conditions in Nigeria and the response of government authorities. According to the report, “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 emphasizes that violent attacks have affected followers of both religions, stating: “Fulani assailants have not spared Muslims, raiding herders’ cattle and violently attacking non‑Fulani Muslim communities.” It added that many militants have also “targeted Christian communities in the Middle Belt and, increasingly, the South, burning homes and churches as well as kidnapping, raping, and murdering.” USCIRF said violence by Fulani militants has become one of the deadliest sources of insecurity affecting religious communities in the country.

“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 organised insurgent groups and criminal gangs,” the report states. The commission further revealed that militant attacks and land invasions have displaced at least 1.3 million Nigerians in the Middle Belt.

“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,” it says. The report also maintains that attacks have sometimes been deliberately timed around Christian holidays to increase fear and psychological trauma.

“Militant actors have often carried out operations during Christian holidays such as Christmas or Easter to maximize the psychological impact further, terrifying those communities from gathering to celebrate or worship,” USCIRF says. The report cites multiple attacks in Plateau, Benue, Kaduna, Niger and Zamfara states involving killings, kidnappings and violent raids on churches, mosques and rural communities.

However, the commission warns against simplistic interpretations of the violence as being driven solely by religion, noting that environmental, economic, and criminal factors also play major roles. It notes that while some observers view the attacks as part of “a concerted campaign of outright genocide against non‑Muslims, especially Christians,” others point to land competition, poverty and environmental pressures. “In fact, multiple and overlapping factors, including religion in many cases, likely spur Fulani militants to attack communities or individuals,” the report says.

USCIRF added that regardless of motivation, the consequences remain severe for both religious groups. “Regardless of these complex motivating factors, the escalation of Fulani‑led land invasions and other violent assaults has yielded the same outcomes: severely disrupting the lives, livelihoods, and ability to worship of many Christian and Muslim farmers while triggering their mass displacement and depriving them of their lands,” the report added.

The commission concludes that despite recent security interventions and bilateral discussions between Nigeria and the United States, violent incursions into farming communities, kidnappings, and attacks on religious sites continue, leaving central Nigeria trapped in what it describes as an “intense, daily, and seemingly perpetual crisis of insecurity.”