Hausa Communities Petition ICC Over Fulani Killer Groups: Accuse Them of Ethnic Violence, Land Grabs
A coalition of Hausa community leaders and rights groups has submitted a formal petition to the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing violent Fulani militant groups of committing crimes against humanity in parts of northern Nigeria.
The petition, submitted this week at The Hague, alleges that terrorist factions linked to some Fulani armed groups have been systematically killing, displacing, and ransacking Hausa communities, particularly in vulnerable rural areas, and are now illegally resettling on the indigenous land of the victims.
“What we are witnessing is not just terrorism — it is an organized campaign of ethnic cleansing,” the petition states. “Our people are being wiped out from their ancestral homes, and the world is watching in silence.”
The petitioners highlighted a disturbing trend: heavily armed attackers, often on motorcycles, invading Hausa-dominated villages, killing men, women, and children, looting properties, and burning down entire communities. In the aftermath, survivors claim the perpetrators move in and establish settlements in the cleared areas.
This pattern has been reported across multiple states in the northwest and north-central regions, including Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Niger, where communities have repeatedly raised alarms about unprovoked attacks by armed herders and bandits believed to be of Fulani origin.
Several Hausa elders and activists, many of whom are survivors of attacks, say they have lost faith in Nigerian authorities, accusing the government of failing to protect them or prosecute known perpetrators.
“The Nigerian state has either lost control or is complicit in these atrocities,” said one community leader involved in the ICC petition. “We are appealing to the international community because we have exhausted all local options.”
The group is calling on the ICC to investigate the killings and forced displacements as crimes against humanity and war crimes, and to issue arrest warrants for known militia leaders and their backers.
The development adds to the growing tensions between Hausa communities and violent Fulani factions, who have been widely accused of weaponizing pastoralist conflicts into full-blown terrorism. It also challenges a long-standing narrative that often lumps Hausa and Fulani identities together due to cultural overlap in northern Nigeria.
Analysts warn that the crisis, if not addressed, risks spiraling into broader ethnic conflict in a region already plagued by insecurity.
As of press time, the Nigerian government and security agencies have not issued a formal response to the ICC petition. However, in past statements, officials have often referred to the armed groups as “bandits” and downplayed the ethnic dimension of the crisis.
Human rights advocates are urging the ICC to treat the petition with urgency, noting that ongoing violence has displaced hundreds of thousands and killed thousands more over the past five years.
