‘Shoot on Sight’: Unveiling Longstanding Paralysis Doctrine of Nigerian Army. New Order Acknowledges that Troops Weren’t Allowed to Fire at Fulani Terrorists.
By Mike Odeh James
(Abuja) Nigeria’s Defence Minister has ordered troops to shoot terrorists on sight without awaiting authorization – an admission that analysts say confirms years of deadly command paralysis.
“Anybody who refuses to shoot or kill any bandit or terrorist in the name of waiting for an order, we will treat you like a bandit,” Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.) declared July 8 in Sokoto, calling the directive “a general order.” He spoke while commissioning a $19.6 million (₦27.127 billion) package of armored personnel carriers, tactical vehicles and motorcycles unveiled by the Sokoto State Government.
Admission of Complicity with Terrorism?
For survivors of massacres across the Middle Belt, the order raises an obvious question the international community should be asking too: If soldiers never needed authorization to engage, why are they now being threatened for waiting for one?
“On June 13, 2025, in Yelwata, Benue State, soldiers stationed nearby failed to act as victims were burned alive, arriving more than five hours after the attackers left — despite a May 13 Department of State Services memo warning of the assault,” David Onyilokwu Idah, Director of the International Human Rights Commission in Abuja, tells TruthNigeria.
“On the day of the attack, the officers in charge of the military base in Yelwata refused to confront the terrorists, and so the massacre was allowed,” Franc Utoo, an official of Equipping the Persecuted, TruthNigeria’s parent organization and a native of Yelwata, told TruthNigeria.
“I have spoken to some security men who told me the Federal Government gave them a directive that they do not have to move against these Fulani men,” former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom told the International Centre for Investigative Reporting in June 2022. “I can’t see how these men can come and kill people and take over the land, and the Federal Government will defend them.”
A Documented Pattern of Standing Down
Field reporting gathered by TruthNigeria across Plateau, Taraba, Kaduna and Benue states shows the claims made by Ortom, Utoo and Idah are correct. Among the documented cases are the following in which Nigerian troops failed to intervene even after notification of attacks in progress against Christians:
- On July 15, 2025, in Bindi (Jebu), Riyom County, Plateau State, community leaders warned the military of an imminent attack and were assured it was “on top of the situation.” Fulani Terrorists struck at 3 a.m. anyway, killing 32 According to Persecution.org, multiple residents, soldiers stationed nearby did not intervene during the assault. Some villagers claim that the soldiers even prevented local youths from responding to the attackers.
- On November 29, 2025, in Mwar, Mangu County, Plateau State, villagers ran to a military checkpoint a few hundred meters away pleading for help. The soldiers — at least ten of them — never responded, and three villagers were killed minutes later.
- That same night in Igbum, Taraba State, residents’ calls to the military went unanswered before personnel switched off their phones as more than 30 Fulani Terrorists stormed the village.
- On December 11, 2025, in Agunu Dutse, Kaduna State, a base commandant 400 meters away ignored residents’ calls through a three-hour firefight. “The soldiers could hear the gunshots… yet they didn’t come,” survivor Bulus said.
The Numbers Behind the Paralysis
The stand-down pattern has a body count. More than 28,500 Christians were killed in Nigeria between 2020 and 2025 — twice the number of Muslims slain — and nearly 16,000 Christians were abducted, according to a six-year study by the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA).
Fulani Terror Groups were responsible for 44 percent of civilian killings, whereas in contrast Islamic State West Africa Province and Boko Haram together accounted for just 12 percent.
The Missing Designation
“Fulani Islamic militants are guilty of committing a large portion of the horrific acts of persecution and violence against Christians in Nigeria,” Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV) told the Daily Caller.
Judd Saul, head of Equipping the Persecuted, told the Caller the Nigerian government is complicit in the killings because the country’s military, police and security apparatus are embedded with Fulani personnel. The Caller’s July 7 feature — citing TruthNigeria’s ground reporting — noted counterterrorism operations remain fixed on Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram whereas the deadliest group escapes America’s blacklist.
The Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 (H.R. 7457), sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Moore, would compel State Department accountability reporting and Global Magnitsky sanctions against perpetrators and financiers.
Election Clock Ticking
President Bola Tinubu faces re-election on January 16, 2027, having retained Vice President Kashim Shettima on the ruling party ticket, with campaigns opening August 19. Insecurity ranks as voters’ top grievance across the North.
Whether Musa’s directive translates into soldiers actually engaging Fulani Terrorists mid-attack or becomes another pronouncement that dies between podium and frontline will be measured in the villages of the Middle Belt, one raid at a time.
Mike Odeh James is an award-winning conflict reporter for TruthNigeria.
