USCIRF alleges collusion between security officers and Fulani militias in Nigeria

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has alleged that some members of Nigeria’s police and military are collaborating with Fulani militias responsible for violent attacks and kidnappings affecting religious communities.

The allegation was contained in the commission’s May 2026 report titled “Non-state Violators of Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Fulani Militants.”

According to the report, some kidnapping cases remain unresolved partly because of “possible collusion between perpetrators and some officials from the police and/or army.”

The commission further claimed that government censorship and competing narratives surrounding insecurity in Nigeria had made it difficult to properly determine the motivations and identities of armed groups operating in different parts of the country.

“Some observers have argued environmental and economic factors as the driving force behind Fulani militants’ acts of violence, while others have suggested that these actors are engaged in a concerted campaign of outright genocide against non-Muslims, especially Christians,” the report stated.

USCIRF estimated that around 30,000 armed actors operate across Nigeria in groups ranging from 10 to 1,000 members, with activities concentrated in the North-West, Middle Belt and parts of southern Nigeria.

The commission said escalating violence had displaced at least 1.3 million residents in the Middle Belt, forcing many into overcrowded and unsafe displacement camps.

It also cited several attacks in Benue, Plateau, Kaduna and Niger states, including the reported killing of over 200 Christians in Yelwata, Benue State, in 2025, and attacks allegedly timed to coincide with Christian holidays.

“One attack in Benue in June 2025 killed at least 200 people, including internally displaced persons living in a Catholic mission,” the report said.

The commission criticised Nigerian authorities for what it described as insufficient responses to the violence and urged the US Congress to stop paid lobbying for governments designated as Countries of Particular Concern over religious freedom violations.

At the same time, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth disclosed that President Donald Trump had instructed the Pentagon to prioritise Nigerian Christians targeted by ISIS.

“There’s a lot of things we do that the media pays attention to, and a lot of things that the president empowers the department to do on behalf of the American people, that he deserves great credit for,” he said.

Reacting to the report, the Middle Belt Forum agreed with the commission’s findings, saying there had long been concerns about collusion within the security system, while Afenifere said the allegations should be thoroughly investigated rather than ignored.

Africans Angle News