many people who talk about middle belt, can't explain what middle belt mean, it is geographical location (that is Niger, Nasarawa and kwara included) or religious base that is any northerner that is not a muslim is a middle belt which means that a christain from born and kebbi or pagan from kano and jigawa are included while a muslim from Kogi is excluded or the third option that is christian from north central which means meanly Benue and Plateau state and like 40-60% of taraba and Kogi

Because some times people like Abba moro and labaran maku are called northern with northern agenda some even go to the extant off calling them hausas that i s they are classified as same as Shamsudeen unman and Bala Muhd ( that when geographical location is used)

But sometime they are called middle belt that is when the people want to use religion

The middlebelt are the minority groups/ppls of central Nigeria, nd dis really doesn't depend on religion. Muslims from minority central nigerian groups are middlebelters, only dat some of them would prefer d name north central as they feel they shuld be one with hausa-fulani core-north cos of religion. Christians from Katsina, core-north can neva be midlebelters as they are hausa-fulanis. Religion is nt d factor of determination.