A state-backed Nigerian militia, operating alongside Beninese vigilantes and Nigerian soldiers, killed at least 38 to 41 ethnic Fulani herders in a cross-border raid in Nigeria's Niger state last week, according to local sources who spoke to AFP. The victims were accused of acting as informants for Ansaru, an al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group active in the region. Many others were arrested during the operation.
Security personnel carried out door-to-door searches in Fulani herding settlements around Kabe, a locality in the Borgu district of Niger state — a gold-rich agricultural region in central-western Nigeria, distinct from the neighbouring country of the same name. Those who resisted arrest were shot. A community leader from the nearby village of Konkoso confirmed the toll of 41 dead, describing the operation as a joint effort between Nigerian vigilantes from Bussa district, their counterparts from Benin — the small West African nation bordering Nigeria to the west — and Nigerian military personnel. The Nigerian military declined to comment, while Beninese military officials did not respond to requests for information.
Local residents described the raid as a "pre-emptive" response to threats made by Fulani herders to disrupt the upcoming farming season. Tensions had been building after two Fulani men, accused of being Ansaru informants, were killed in the nearby community of Sabalunna. In retaliation, Ansaru attacked and burned down the village, warning that killings of their people would not go unpunished. Herders subsequently threatened to target farmers in the bush, prompting the militia operation. Following the raid, Fulani settlements in the area were abandoned, with herders fleeing with their cattle.
The violence reflects deep and long-standing fault lines in Niger state, which has for years been afflicted by armed "bandit" gangs engaged in cattle rustling and kidnapping, and more recently by jihadist groups that have expanded westward from Nigeria's northeast. The Fulani, a predominantly nomadic herding people spread across West Africa, have been caught in a dangerous middle ground: stigmatised as sympathisers of armed groups, yet also frequently victimised by them. Researchers warn that indiscriminate reprisals against Fulani civilians risk becoming self-fulfilling, driving more individuals toward jihadist groups seeking protection.
The incident comes as scrutiny of Nigerian security forces intensifies. Human rights organisation Amnesty International, on the same day as the raid became public, called on Nigerian authorities to investigate the deaths of 150 Fulani people at a military-run camp in Kwara state, who had been transported there after fleeing attacks by armed groups. The back-to-back incidents underscore mounting concern over the treatment of Fulani civilians amid Nigeria's worsening security crisis.