ABUJA, Nigeria The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report states that Nigerian federal and state governments still tolerate attacks by nonstate actors justifying violence based on religion.
“Islamist and some Fulani militant groups have expressed a goal of overthrowing secular governance to enforce a singular interpretation of Islam,” states the report, released on Friday (Aug. 9).+
Around 30,000 “Fulani bandits,” comprising several groups with ten to one thousand members in northwest Nigeria, are said to “pose the greatest security threat in northwest Nigeria and engage in violence and banditry targeting predominantly Christian communities in Nigeria,” according to the study.
Among their crimes are kidnapping, rape, stealing goods and cattle, carrying a gun illegally, and murder.
“The specific perpetrators of and motivation behind individual attacks can be difficult to verify,” USCIRF states. “Regardless of motivation, however, attacks in the northwest, northeast, and central regions of Nigeria significantly restrict freedom of religion or belief, particularly for the predominantly Christian communities that live there.”
The report states that while Fulani-related criminality has been present for some time, it has grown into a transnational security concern.
It also adds that the conflict over natural resources between the majority-Muslim Fulani herders and farmers and the majority-Christian farmers makes crimes worse. According to the report, this year’s conflict has had a significant impact on food production, regional trade, and the illegal taxation of farmers, mainly Christian farmers.
Even when nonreligious factors like resource competition and ethnic animosity are the drivers of conflict, the report claims that violence between farmers (mostly Christians) and herders (mostly Muslims) can occasionally destroy religious sites. “This competition often manifests along religious divides between Christians and Muslims, particularly in areas like Plateau State, where both communities reside.”
In January, skirmishes between Fulanis and ethnic Mwagaful farmers killed at least 30 people in Plateau State, and assailants also burned churches and mosques.
“Fulani bandits also carry out kidnappings to extort ransom money from middle- or working-class families,” USCIRF states. “In several cases, they have kidnapped students from Christian schools or buses taking children to these schools.”
Gangs generally release hostages unharmed if families meet ransom demands, but victims’ families have criticized the government for being slow in responding to and rescuing those abducted; the report also notes that they blame the government for failing to prevent kidnappings.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has requested that victims’ families refrain from paying ransom demands to discourage abductions.
Tinubu also promised the government that it would utilize more “detailed strategies” to curtail kidnappings, though he has not elaborated on them, according to the report.
USCIRF states that government policies are discriminatory, infringe on religious liberty, lead to abuse of human rights, and subtly aid terrorist activities in the country. The government has not undertaken spirited efforts to check escalating terrorist attacks, it notes.
The government uses blasphemy laws to prosecute and imprison individuals perceived to have insulted religion, including Christians, Muslims, and humanists, USCIRF states.
“It also continues to tolerate egregious violence by nonstate actors, including JAS/Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and other extremist groups,” the report states. “This violence affects large numbers of Christians and Muslims in several states across Nigeria and targets both religious sites and individuals from religious minority communities.”
According to the report, although Nigeria’s constitution declares the nation to be secular and democratic, blasphemy laws and sharia (Islamic law) codes cause non-Muslims to be subjugated and compelled to follow Islamic principles.
Although the 1999 constitution prohibits the federal and state governments from establishing an official religion, it does allow the use of sharia and customary law courts for noncriminal proceedings at the state level and does not require all citizens to follow them.
The report states that 12 states in northern Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have implemented Sharia legal frameworks, and some apply them in criminal cases.
“The Nigerian government continues to imprison individuals accused of blasphemy and often fails to pursue perpetrators of violence related to blasphemy allegations,” the report states.
It states that several people remain incarcerated with long prison sentences due to blasphemy convictions.
“On the other hand, there appears to be a willingness on the part of the Nigerian government, including state governors, to discuss the country’s security situation more openly,” the report states. “Nigeria’s government is becoming more active in pursuing violent nonstate actors who continue to attack or threaten religious communities.”
Over the spring, the government resolved two major kidnapping events: criminals in March released more than 130 school students in Kaduna state unharmed, and in May, army troops and police units rescued hundreds of JAS (Jama’at Ahl al-Sunna lid-Dawah wa’al-Jihad) and Boko Haram-held women and children in the Sambisa forest in northeastern Nigeria. Most of the hostages had been held there for months or even years, the report states.
In its 2024 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) due to the government’s engagement in and tolerating particularly severe violations of religious freedom.
“The report outlines several steps the U.S. government can take to address religious freedom issues in Nigeria. These steps include emphasizing the importance of religious freedom when providing U.S. foreign assistance funds. This approach would help advance freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in Nigeria by contributing to a more sustainable security situation. Still, it would also position Nigeria as a stronger bulwark against broader regional conflicts affecting religious communities across the Lake Chad basin.”
According to Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List (WWL), released last year, Nigeria maintained its position as the sixth most difficult country to be a Christian.
Nigeria remained the deadliest place in the world to follow Christ, with 4,118 people killed for their faith from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023, according to the WWL. More kidnappings of Christians than in any other country also took place in Nigeria, with 3,300.
With 750 attacks on churches and other Christian buildings, including schools, cemeteries, and hospitals, Nigeria ranked third among all countries in the report.