Nigeria: Fulani militia killings: A crisis lacking global attention

By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria

A security expert, Steven Kefas, has expressed concern over the lack of global attention to the killings perpetrated by Fulani militias in Nigeria. According to Kefas, despite being one of the deadliest groups in the country, Fulani militias have mysteriously vanished from international terrorism rankings.

Between October 2019 and September 2025, 66,656 deaths were documented across Nigeria, with 36,056 being civilians. The Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) was alleged to be responsible for 47% of all civilian killings.

The International Displacement Monitoring Centre reported that 3.4 million Nigerians had been forcibly displaced from their homes by conflict and violence by the end of 2025

79% of civilian killings were attributed to land-based community attacks, where armed groups invade small Christian farming settlements to kill, rape, abduct, and burn homes.

 The data reveals that 2.4 Christians were killed for every Muslim during this period, with proportional losses to Christian communities reaching exceptional levels.

The disappearance of Fulani militants from global terrorism rankings despite their escalating lethality raises questions about how international terrorism monitoring systems categorize and prioritize threats.

This lack of recognition affects international aid allocation, security cooperation, and diplomatic pressure, allowing the crisis to metastasize.

The violence has led to the systematic destruction of agricultural communities, which form the backbone of Nigeria’s food security.

The country faces not only a humanitarian crisis but also long-term food production challenges that could affect regional stability.