In a chilling warning that has drawn concern at home and abroad, security experts say massacres carried out by Fulani militia are being overlooked on the international stage, despite mounting evidence.
According to recent reports by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA), more than 55,000 Nigerians have lost their lives to Fulani Ethnic Militia violence between October 2019 and September 2023, with over 21,000 people abducted, including entire families in farming communities across the North Central zone and Southern Kaduna
Shockingly, the authorities appear to be pursuing insurgents far from the scenes of these atrocities, leaving countless victims unprotected.
In Plateau State alone, suspected Fulani gunmen reportedly massacred at least 200 villagers between 15 and 16 May 2023, leaving homes torched and communities shattered
Meanwhile, the infamous Plateau Christmas massacres of December 2023 left around 200 people dead and over 500 injured, with at least 17 villages attacked amid flames and gunfire .
Foreign Policy
Security analyst Dr. Abubakar Aldo warns this is no longer mere “rural banditry” but “systematic ethnic cleansing”. He notes the government’s reluctance to designate Fulani militias as terrorists under anti-terrorism laws has shielded perpetrators from accountability
His stark observation is backed by data from former Governor Samuel Ortom, who revealed Benue State alone saw more than 6,000 fatalities at the hands of Fulani militias between 2015 and 2023
Calls grew louder recently from the Southern & Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF), which condemned the “genocidal massacre” of innocent Irigwe and other communities in Plateau and Benue. They described these killings as neither accidental nor spontaneous, but part of a “deliberate strategy of territorial expansion and ethnic cleansing”
Adding to the controversy is a growing sentiment that the military and police are either unable or unwilling to protect citizens. Former Defence Minister Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd) urged Nigerians to defend themselves, citing an alarming failure of security forces to respond quickly to mass violence in Plateau
Despite these horrifying figures and appeals for justice, casualty reports are barely sparking global debate. Meanwhile, experts emphasise that continued downplaying of these killings, labeling them “farmer-herder clashes” or mere “banditry”, is helping entrench impunity. Unless the federal government formally designates the Fulani ethnic militias as terrorist groups, security analysts say, perpetrators will continue acting with near impunity
The danger now, say analysts, is two-fold: that Nigeria’s Middle Belt may morph into yet another Sahel-like corridor of violence stretching from Burkina Faso to Mali, and that ordinary Nigerians, especially in vulnerable rural communities, will bear the brunt of unchecked brutality.