The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has accused some police and military officers of colluding with Fulani militias in deadly attacks and mass abductions targeting religious communities across Nigeria. The commission also urged the US Congress to bar individuals lobbying on behalf of foreign governments that Washington has blacklisted for severe religious freedom violations from receiving payment for such services.
In a related development, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said President Donald Trump had directed the Pentagon to prioritise the protection of Nigerian Christians allegedly targeted by ISIS, adding that the directive had quietly contributed to the killing of ISIS’ second-in-command in Nigeria. ISIS
“There are a lot of things we do that the media pays attention to, and many others that the president empowers the department to carry out on behalf of the American people, for which he deserves great credit,” he said.
In a May 2026 report titled “Non-state Violators of Religious Freedom in Nigeria: Fulani Militants,” the commission further stated that Nigerian government censorship had hindered accurate analysis of the identities and motivations of armed groups violating religious freedom.
Efforts to obtain reactions from Force Headquarters and the Ministry of Defence in Abuja on Wednesday were unsuccessful, as spokespeople for both agencies did not answer telephone calls or respond to text messages sent to their mobile lines.
The report added that “the fates of all these kidnapping victims, like so many others, remain unknown to the public due to the sensitivity of ransom negotiations and, in some cases, possible collusion between perpetrators and some officials from the police and/or army.”
It further noted that conflicting media narratives and reported government censorship have complicated efforts to accurately identify and understand the motivations of the growing number of armed non-state actors involved in religiously motivated violence in Nigeria.
“Some observers have argued that environmental and economic factors are the primary drivers of Fulani militant violence, while others have suggested that these actors are engaged in a coordinated campaign of genocide against non-Muslims, especially Christians,” the report added.
