According to a Financial Times report, the recent attacks, suspected to be carried out by animal herders, have killed over 150 people and displaced thousands in two north-central states. Meanwhile, Christian civilians and security forces have also been targeted by a splinter group of Boko Haram militants in the northeast.
Asurge in rural violence has claimed hundreds of lives in northern Nigeria, putting pressure on President Bola Tinubu.
According to a Financial Times report, the recent attacks, suspected to be carried out by animal herders, have killed over 150 people and displaced thousands in two north-central states. Meanwhile, Christian civilians and security forces have also been targeted by a splinter group of Boko Haram militants in the northeast.
The violence has drawn attention from US conservatives, who claim Christians are being specifically targeted. The attacks have intensified criticism of President Tinubu’s handling of security challenges, which he had promised to address during his 2023 election campaign.
Despite his efforts, many areas in northern Nigeria continue to struggle with insecurity, and the president’s policies have yet to yield significant improvements.
Nnamdi Obasi, senior Nigeria adviser at the International Crisis Group, acknowledged that the president has made some commendable moves, such as boosting defence spending and appointing respected security chiefs.
However, he noted that these efforts have not “translated to better results on the ground”.
President Bola Tinubu has announced a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s national security strategies following a recent surge in violence. The move comes amid escalating clashes between herders and farmers in Benue and Plateau states, which have resulted in hundreds of deaths and displacements.
The decades-old conflict is driven by competition for resources, complicated by religious tensions between predominantly Muslim herders and Christian farmers.
A recent statement from Tinubu’s office following his meeting with security chiefs announced his directive for an “immediate and comprehensive overhaul of national security strategies.”
The religious aspect of these attacks has drawn international attention. U.S. Congressman Chris Smith, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, has proposed a resolution urging the Trump administration to redesignate Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” (CPC), a list that includes nations accused of violating religious freedoms, such as China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.
This call has been echoed by the Hudson Institute, where senior fellow Nina Shea argued in March that Nigeria’s inclusion on the CPC list is justified.
While CPC designation does not impose sanctions, the U.S. State Department warns that economic measures may follow if non-economic approaches fail. Nigeria was designated a CPC during Trump’s first term, but this was reversed by Joe Biden in 2021. Nigeria’s foreign ministry has denied allegations of Christian persecution.
The crisis is further aggravated by desertification and climate change, which push cattle herders into agricultural regions. Lagos-based research firm SBM highlights that the influx of weapons has intensified the violence.
Confidence MacHarry, senior security analyst at SBM Intelligence, explained that conflicts in Nigeria often do not start with religious motives. However, when disputes arise between ethnic groups, religion quickly becomes a significant factor.
According to him, the broader issue—the struggle for resources—can easily be overlooked.
In its annual report released in March 2025, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended that Nigeria be designated as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) due to deteriorating religious freedom conditions in 2024.
USCIRF urged the U.S. State Department under the Donald Trump administration to designate Nigeria, along with Afghanistan, India, and Vietnam, as additional CPCs.
The report also recommended that 12 countries be redesignated as CPCs, including Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
Additionally, USCIRF suggested that the State Department maintain Algeria and Azerbaijan on the Special Watch List (SWL) and add 10 more countries, including Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.
The commission also called for the redesignation of Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) — also known as ISIS-West Africa — as Entities of Particular Concern (EPCs), alongside six other groups: al-Shabaab, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Houthis, Islamic State – Sahel Province (ISSP), and Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).
The report accused both the federal and state governments in Nigeria of “tolerating attacks” or “failing to respond to violent actions by nonstate actors” in 2024.
It said, “The Nigerian federal government also continued to enforce blasphemy laws that include a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment for acts “persons consider as a public insult on their religion.”
“Several state governments also enforced their own more stringent blasphemy laws to prosecute and imprison individuals perceived to have insulted religion, including Christians, Muslims, and humanists. At least five prisoners remained in state custody on blasphemy charges at the end of the year, including Mubarak Bala, Yahaya Sharif–Aminu, Isma’ila Sani Isah, Sheikh Abduljabar Nasiru Kabara, and Abdulazeez Inyass,” it said.
The report states, “In 2024, the conditions for religious freedom in Nigeria remained poor.
“Federal and state governments continued to tolerate attacks or fail to respond to violent actions by nonstate actors who justify their violence on religious grounds. These actors include Jama’tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS, also known as Boko Haram) and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).”
“Bandit groups also participated in attacks against religious communities as well,” the report noted. “Violent Islamist groups and some Fulani militants sought to impose a singular interpretation of Islam on individuals and communities in their areas of operation, regardless of these individuals’ or communities’ own religion or belief.”
The report highlighted several specific incidents of religiously motivated violence in 2024. In January, suspected members of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) insurgent group killed 14 people in Yobe State, including a local pastor from the Church of Christ in Nigeria. In May, al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansaru gunmen reportedly kidnapped 160 mainly Christian children and killed eight people in Niger State before later releasing the children.
ISWAP assailants also reportedly executed three Christians and shared images of the executions online, it said.
According to the report, in November, the Lakurawa group — seeking to impose their interpretation of Shari’a law — allegedly killed 15 people in Kebbi State. In May, bandits killed at least 49 people in Zamfara State, including a Muslim imam, and in Niger State, suspected bandits killed 10 farmers, including Christians. In August, bandits reportedly killed 70 Christians and kidnapped 20 students in separate attacks in Benue State.
USCIRF criticised the Nigerian government’s response to the violence, stating that security forces “sometimes remained slow to respond to violence by these groups, resulting in injury or death for members of targeted religious minority communities.”
The report estimated that around 30,000 Fulani bandits operate in several groups in northwest Nigeria, each consisting of anywhere from 10 to 1,000 members. These bandits have been accused of disproportionately targeting Christian communities and disrupting food production through violent raids and extralegal “taxation” campaigns that primarily victimise Christian farmers.
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