An estimated 30,000 armed Fulani militants are operating across Nigeria in groups ranging from 10 to 1,000 members, according to the May 2026 report released by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
The report stated that the militants have become some of the deadliest non-state actors driving religious freedom violations in Nigeria.
Titled “Nonstate Violators of Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Fulani Militants,” the report said attacks carried out by armed actors of Fulani ethnic background intensified insecurity across the Middle Belt and Southern regions, leaving thousands dead, displacing communities and deepening tensions between religious groups.
“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 stated.
The commission said many of the attacks were directed at Christian communities, though Muslim communities had also suffered raids, killings and kidnappings.
