Religious and ethnic conflicts in Nigeria
Around half of Nigeria’s population is Muslim, and twelve northern states have been subject to Sharia law since the turn of the millennium. A growing share of the population, around half, is Christian and lives mainly in the southern and eastern states.
Islamist terrorist organisations such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have for years attacked Christians, burned down villages and churches, abducted girls and women, raped them, demanded ransoms for their release, forcibly converted them to Islam and forced them into marriage.
There have also been conflicts between the Fulani, traditionally nomadic cattle herders, and settled Christian farmers. Many Fulani have been radicalised by Islam and have found in this ideology a justification for violence against Christians. Eyewitnesses confirm the religious dimension of Fulani attacks on Christians, reporting that attackers have been heard shouting “Allahu akbar” (“Allah is the greatest”) and “We will wipe out all Christians”. Their religious motivation also means that church leaders and churches are specifically targeted. Ruling emirs have at times been complicit in the abduction of Christian girls for forced marriage.
The Saudi-inspired Salafist Izala movement has gained influence among the Fulani over the years, while the Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) has, over the past decade, become more powerful than Boko Haram and ISWAP. FEM persecutes Christians as well as Muslims who do not belong to the Fulani ethnic group. According to the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, more than 42,000 Nigerian civilians were killed between 2020 and 2025. Of these, 4 per cent were killed by ISWAP, 8 per cent by Boko Haram, 44 per cent by Fulani terrorist groups, while 32 per cent were killed by unidentified terrorist groups predominantly associated with the Fulani.
In the north-western state of Kaduna, Fulani groups have, since 2014, displaced the inhabitants of more than one hundred villages and taken over their land.
Christian and Muslim victims are treated differently
Over a period of ten years, Steven Kefas conducted fieldwork in different parts of Nigeria, interviewing local people. Across state borders, armed groups and different years, their accounts were consistent in describing differences in the way perpetrators treated Christians and Muslims.
When villages with mixed populations are attacked, Muslims are spared while their Christian neighbours are killed. Among those taken captive, abducted Christians are treated more brutally, the ransom demands are much higher and negotiations for their release are more protracted than they are for Muslim captives. Christians are subjected to psychological torture and threats of execution. Christian captives are routinely beaten and raped. Muslim captives are treated better: they receive sufficient food, are allowed to move relatively freely around the camp and can practise their faith without restriction.
The government plays down the atrocities and fails to act
The authorities have regularly arrested and prosecuted members of Boko Haram and ISWAP, but have not acted to the same extent against Fulani perpetrators. Meanwhile, the scale of attacks on Christians has continued to grow, including in the predominantly Christian states further south.
In the authorities’ distorted account of events, perpetrators are described as “bandits”, “criminals” or “armed herders” committing “crime” and “ethnic attacks”, while the violence is described as “clashes between farmers and herders”. According to the government, these are clashes between different communities caused by climate change. Acknowledging that the violence is ethno-religious in nature would damage Nigeria’s international reputation, deter investors and potentially reduce the amount of development aid received by the country.
Nor is it explained that these are not random acts of violence, but highly organised attacks. Fulani groups are structured, operate across state borders and, in some cases, cooperate with jihadist networks.
Nigeria’s Muslim president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been accused of responding too slowly and reactively to the attacks. On 27 July 2026, the police commissioner in Kaduna therefore called for a more proactive approach to law enforcement by the government.
The authorities’ major crackdown on the media in 2017
Luka Binniyat is a fearless journalist from Kaduna State who has reported on attacks against Christians in Nigeria. On 24 January 2017, for example, he published an article about the killing of five students by herders. Six months later, the Nigerian authorities launched a crackdown on the country’s media in an operation that lasted two months, from 12 July to 16 September. Binniyat was among the journalists they targeted.
Kaduna’s then state governor, Nasir el-Rufai, who is Fulani, brought a case against Binniyat in the High Court, accusing him of disturbing public order and publishing false information. Binniyat was remanded in custody under extraordinary bail conditions: two guarantors were each required to provide security equivalent to approximately DKK 200,000 and surrender their international passports for the duration of the proceedings. Further conditions were imposed, but after 96 days in pre-trial detention, he was finally released on 12 October.
Among the authorities’ other actions against journalists during this period was an attack on the premises of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Abia State on 12 September. Twenty soldiers stormed the building and ordered the journalists present to kneel before destroying mobile phones and other equipment. The attacks were intended to intimidate Nigerian journalists and encourage self-censorship.
Luka Binniyat reported on massacres of Christians in 2021
In an article published on 29 October 2021, Luka Binniyat reported that several senior leaders of the Christian Adara people had accused Nasir el-Rufai in 2019 of inciting violent attacks, after which armed Fulani herders killed more than 800 Adara people. Following the massacre, the authorities in Kaduna did not summon a single Fulani leader for questioning.
In the village of Madamai in Kaduna, around 300 masked men attacked residents on 26 September 2021, killing 38 unarmed men and women. In his article, Binniyat reported that one month later the authorities had still made no arrests. The state government had also, highly misleadingly, described the attack as a “clash”. Nasir el-Rufai was accused of turning a blind eye to the attacks. Under el-Rufai, the state government had not arrested a single Fulani leader. It had, however, arrested several Christian pastors and journalists who were critical of his government.
Binniyat prosecuted because of the article
While working on the article, Luka Binniyat spoke to Danjuma Laah, the senator representing southern Kaduna in Nigeria’s Senate. Referring to Kaduna’s Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, Laah said:
“Kaduna State Government is using Samuel Aruwan, a Christian, to confuse issues and cover up the ongoing genocide in Southern Kaduna by describing the massacre as a ‘clash’.”
This quotation prompted Samuel Aruwan to accuse Binniyat of defamation. The journalist was arrested and detained on 4 November 2021. In early January, his wife said that he was suffering from health problems and that she had no confidence in the treatment he was receiving at the prison clinic.
On 27 January 2022, the Kaduna High Court ruled that Binniyat could be released on bail equivalent to approximately DKK 16,000. By then, he had spent 84 days in a maximum-security prison, while the proceedings against him continued for several more years.
Alliance Defending Freedom International supported Luka Binniyat throughout his years-long legal battle. The organisation provides, among other things, legal assistance to persecuted Christians in Nigeria, including women asserting their right to leave Islam and convert to Christianity.
At the end of May 2026, the Kaduna High Court finally delivered its judgment: Luka Binniyat was fully acquitted.
Reaction from Alliance Defending Freedom
Sean Nelson, senior counsel for religious freedom at Alliance Defending Freedom, was involved in Luka Binniyat’s defence. Commenting on the case, he said:
“Luka Binniyat did nothing more than accurately quote the words of a Nigerian legislator. The ruling is a victory for Luka, but it should also serve as a reminder: truthful reporting of atrocities is not a crime, and journalists covering religious persecution should be protected rather than prosecuted. Christians in Nigeria are being slaughtered because of their faith. Journalists have both a duty and a right to report on these violent and religiously motivated attacks — without their reporting, the suffering of Christians would barely be noticed.”
Reaction from Luka Binniyat
Speaking about his treatment, Luka Binniyat said:
“I find it deeply disturbing that I was arrested and prosecuted for doing my duty as a journalist: reporting the facts. Given the widespread persecution of Christians across Nigeria, it is essential that the press should be free to quote what public figures say and do in relation to this crisis. I am grateful that I was acquitted and that the charges against me were dismissed. My experience, however, shows that Nigeria still has a long way to go when it comes to protecting freedom of expression, particularly speech concerning religious freedom and truthful reporting about what is actually happening to Christians in the country.”
