Are Christians being persecuted in Nigeria as Trump claims?

Included in its list of perpetrators are Islamist militant groups like Boko Haram but also Fulani herders. The Fulanis are a mainly Muslim ethnic group who live across West Africa and have traditionally earned their living by raising cattle and sheep.

The inclusion of the Fulani herders, who InterSociety describes as "jihadists" in all its reports, however, is the source of some controversy in Nigeria over how these killings should be categorised.

While the herders tend to be Muslim, many researchers in this field reject the description of this as a religious conflict, saying it is often about access to land and water.

Fulani herders have come into conflict with both Muslim and Christian communities across Nigeria.

Security analyst Mr Ani argues that "to say that they are jihadists - it's a far stretch. It has nothing to do with that. It has a lot more to do with rogue and criminal elements."

Confidence McHarry, a senior security analyst at Africa-focussed consultancy SBM Intelligence, says the clashes are often due to ethnic tensions and competition over resources.

"It might be ethnic in nature - they're seeking to grab lands, they're seeking to expand territory, but the more they displace communities and the more they attack worship centres, the more these things tend to get looked at in that light."

InterSociety also mention what are known in Nigeria as bandits, saying they are mostly ethnic Fulanis in the north-west of the country, who are involved in kidnapping and have a track record of killing both Christians and Muslims.

Concerns about threats facing Nigerian Christians has been discussed by politicians in the United States and by international Christian groups for a long time.

In previous years, it has been raised in the US by the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) – a group proscribed in Nigeria which is fighting for a breakaway state in the mainly Christian south-east.

Intersociety has been accused by the Nigerian military of being linked to Ipob but the NGO has denied any connection.

Another Biafran separatist group has also claimed to have played a key role in promoting the "Christian genocide" narrative in the US Congress.

The Biafra Republic Government in Exile, BRGIE, described it as a "highly orchestrated effort", saying it had hired lobbying firms and met US officials, including Cruz.

The senator declined to comment.

In a Truth Social post last Friday, Trump cited a figure of 3,100 Christians killed. He was referring to a report by Open Doors for deaths for the 12 months from October 2023, a White House official said.

Open Doors is a charity which researches the persecution of Christians worldwide.

In its reporting it says that while 3,100 Christians died, 2,320 Muslims were also killed in that 12-month period.

Open Doors also includes what it calls "Fulani Terror Groups" in its list of perpetrators and says they were responsible for almost a third of Christians killed during those 12 months.

Frans Veerman, senior research fellow at Open Doors, said "what we see now is that Christians are still targeted, but increasingly some Muslims are targeted by Fulani militants".

Analysts say there are many violent attacks on mosques and Muslim communities in the north-west of the country.

"One could say that this is part of the broader insecurity," said Mr McHarry. "The reason why it is not assumed to have a religious dimension is down to the fact that the identities of the people who are carrying out these attacks against Muslims are themselves Muslims."