Unmasking the Fulani Jihad Against Nigeria’s Christians

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In response to growing awareness of anti-Christian violence, President Trump on October 31st named Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern, spotlighting Congress's grim estimate: over 7,000 believers slaughtered and 19,000 churches targeted in 2025 alone, additionally fueling a wave of mass abductions.

What is a Country of Particular Concern?

The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 requires the president to annually review the state of religious freedom across countries. Countries of Particular Concern are those where there are reports of serious violations of religious freedom and human rights in four categories

• Torture

• Prolonged detention without charge

• Forced disappearance

• Other flagrant denial of life, liberty, or security of persons

A country must meet all four criteria to be designated a Country of Particular Concern. If it otherwise engages in serious violations, it is put on a Special Watch List. During his first term, President Trump designated Nigeria a Special Watch List country in 2019 and a Country of Particular Concern in 2020.

What is Happening in Nigeria?

As a Country of Particular Concern, Nigeria meets all four of the above criteria. American attention has recently turned back to witness it.

Torture

The instances of torture in Nigeria are plentiful. For example, militants who kidnap Christians for ransom have the captives call their loved ones in a traumatized state in order to make their demand for ransom heard.

Prolonged Detention Without Charge

Lay Christians, clergy, and even journalists often face imprisonment without clear accusations.

Forced Disappearances

The persecutory efforts in Nigeria are funded by kidnappings in which Fulani militants are aware that Christians will pay a heavy ransom to protect life.

Other Flagrant Denial of Life, Liberty, or Security of Persons

The instances of flagrant disregard for life are too numerous to count, but suffice it to say, mass numbers of Christians are losing their lives in targeted, systemic attacks.

Nigeria has a longstanding history of targeted Christian persecution, and the Nigerian government is silent at best. Judd Saul of Equipping the Persecuted and Truth Nigeria notes that the severity of the current problem goes back at least 30 years. However, the religious history and makeup of the country sheds light on the true root of the persecution, stemming even further back. In 1804, a Muslim Caliphate, the Sokoto Caliphate, succeeded in establishing Islamic influence in Northern Nigeria through politics and education. This influential spread was clearly labeled an effort of jihad. 

The Caliphate was abolished by Britain in 1903. Christianity spread throughout the south of the country, and what essentially came of the religious makeup of Nigeria was an equal split between Islam and Christianity, largely across that northern and southern division. They meet in what is known as the Middle Belt, where much of the violence occurs.

What this means is: the jihadist efforts brought in by the Sokoto Caliphate never truly stopped. The reason the government is silent is because it is Muslim. On paper, Nigeria has religious freedom enshrined in the constitution. And yet, individual states are allowed to enact strict blasphemy laws, essentially legalizing persecution.

A slow jihad still wages through the country. The tribe that brought this Caliphate to power is called the Fulani. If you click through the many links thus far, you will see that Fulani jihadists take responsibility for much of the persecution happening today.

Worldview Roundup

For years, international coverage and many policy analyses portrayed Nigeria’s deadliest conflict as an ethnic and economic dispute: nomadic Fulani herders moving south in search of pasture clashing with mostly Christian farming communities. Climate change leading to scarce resources became the accepted underlying cause of the conflict.

However, reports from Open Doors, the International Crisis Group, and congressional hearings now highlight a pattern of targeted attacks on Christian communities, churches, and clergy by armed Fulani groups, some of whom have pledged allegiance to jihadist ideologies. 

Misdiagnosing the violence as purely environmental or ethnic risks repeating past policy failures, leaving Nigeria’s Christian communities vulnerable until the religious and ideological motives are confronted head-on.