The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, USCIRF, has accused some Nigerian police and army officers of colluding with Fulani militias in deadly attacks and mass abductions targeting religious communities.
In a May 2026 report titled “Non-state Violators of Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Fulani Militants,” the commission said government censorship and “possible collusion between perpetrators and some officials from the police and/or army” had made it harder to understand the violence.
The report said at least 1.3 million people had been displaced in the Middle Belt as armed groups carried out attacks across Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Niger and other states. It cited the 2025 Yelwata massacre in Benue, where more than 200 Christians, “mostly sleeping women and children,” were reportedly killed.
USCIRF said some attacks were timed around Christian holidays. “On Easter Sunday, Fulani militants reportedly killed five worshippers at two churches in Kaduna State while abducting 31 others,” it stated.
The commission also urged the US Congress to stop paid lobbying for governments blacklisted over religious freedom abuses, including Nigeria, which President Donald Trump redesignated as a Country of Particular Concern in 2025.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Trump ordered the Pentagon to prioritise Nigerian Christians targeted by ISIS, adding the move quietly led to the killing of ISIS’ second-in-command in Nigeria.
Middle Belt Forum President Dr. Bitrus Pogu and Afenifere spokesman Jare Ajayi backed the report, saying insider sabotage within security agencies should not be ignored.
