…US report alleges coordinated attacks on Christian communities
….Militants active from North-West to Middle Belt, South — Commission
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has alleged that about 30,000 armed Fulani militants are operating across Nigeria and are responsible for widespread violent attacks, particularly against Christian communities.
In a report released in May, the commission stated that the militants are largely concentrated in Nigeria’s North-West region before moving through the Middle Belt and increasingly into southern parts of the country.
According to the report, violence linked to Fulani militants accounted for the highest number of deaths among religious communities in Nigeria over the past year, surpassing fatalities caused by organised insurgent groups and criminal gangs.
The commission noted that armed actors of Fulani ethnic background have in recent years carried out some of the deadliest attacks on religious communities, especially Christians, although Muslims have also been victims of the violence.
The report explained that while many of the militant groups operate independently, some collaborate with bandit gangs and terrorist organisations driven by extremist ideologies and financial motives.
It added that the groups vary in size, with membership ranging from 10 to 1,000 fighters, and that despite lacking a central command structure, they sometimes coordinate attacks.
The report further alleged that some militant groups attack non-Fulani Muslim communities and rustle cattle belonging to herders, indicating that the violence is not solely religious in nature.
According to the commission, Christian communities in the Middle Belt and parts of southern Nigeria have increasingly come under attack, with incidents involving the burning of homes and churches, kidnappings, killings, and sexual violence.
The report stated that the militants often use motorcycles, automatic weapons, and machetes during coordinated night attacks on vulnerable rural communities.
It added that the attackers frequently communicate through radio systems and strike multiple locations simultaneously, creating fear and forcing residents to flee their ancestral lands.
The commission also recalled that Fulani militants were ranked as the fourth deadliest terrorist group globally in the 2014 Global Terrorism Index.
The report comes amid growing concerns over insecurity, communal clashes, banditry, and terrorism across several parts of Nigeria, particularly in the Middle Belt and northern regions.
However, security analysts and stakeholders have continued to debate the root causes of the violence, with some attributing the crisis to competition over land, grazing routes, ethnic tensions, criminality, and religious extremism.
Successive Nigerian governments have repeatedly pledged to tackle insecurity and prosecute perpetrators of violent attacks across the country.
