A record of the persecution of Christians in Nigeria

Boko Haram uprising. The group’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf, died in police custody after his arrest.

Christmas Day church bombings.

276 girls were abducted from a government secondary school; most of them were Christians.

110 girls were abducted. After most were released, Leah Sharibu, the only Christian girl among them, has been held to this day for refusing to convert.

ISWAP released a video showing the execution of 11 Christians, most of them beheaded.

Nigeria was designated a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for the first time.

The Biden administration removed Nigeria from the CPC list.

Christian student Deborah Samuel was accused of “blasphemy,” beaten to death by a mob, and her body was burned.

Attack with gunfire and explosives during a Pentecost Mass. On 3 June 2026 a court sentenced four people to death.

Coordinated Christmas Eve attacks on dozens of villages.

Attack on a settlement of displaced people sheltered by the Catholic Church. Some victims were locked inside buildings and burned to death.

President Trump redesignated Nigeria as a CPC, said Christians faced an “existential threat,” asked the Pentagon to prepare options, and threatened to cut aid.

A large number of staff and students were abducted. The first reports put the figure at 315; the last group was released on 21 December.

Visa restrictions were imposed on Nigerians involved in violations of religious freedom, including officials.

A joint U.S.–Nigeria airstrike on an ISIS-linked camp. Nigerian officials said the operation was “not about religion.”

Three churches were attacked during Sunday worship and 177 worshippers were abducted. The government first denied the incident, then acknowledged it. The abducted worshippers were released 18 days later.

Christian refugees returning from Cameroon were attacked.

H.R. 7457, the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act, was introduced, calling for targeted sanctions.

Added from a 4 April police briefing as cited by Punch and P.M. News: an early-morning attack on 3 April killed 11 residents; about 50 houses were burned in Akyawa and another 2 in Udege Kasa. Police said the attack was suspected to be retaliation for the killing of two relatives, and announced a manhunt and additional deployments. A 3 April resident report by TruthNigeria said predominantly Christian communities were attacked on 2–3 April by suspected Fulani militia, that security forces did not intervene in time, and that the case involved land and a risk of displacement. On 8 November at 01:37 (Beijing time), MarioUgonna wrote that more than 11 Christians had been killed, about 50 houses burned, and that nothing had been done, but gave no date or village names. The figures and the state name match this case; whether the author was referring to this incident, and whether any attached images belong to it, remain unconfirmed. This should not be treated as a new November attack.

ECWA and St Augustine’s Catholic Church were attacked during worship, and a large number of worshippers were abducted. The military said it had rescued 31 people; residents denied this. According to CSW Nigeria on 2 November 2026, 37 people were abducted from three churches: 12 later escaped, 17 died in captivity, and 8 were released after about five months. An Amnesty International statement on 3 November said the same 37 people were still being held after 212 days. The two accounts disagree and remain unconfirmed.

A dawn attack on the village.

11 people were abducted; 1 escaped. According to CSW, those who died in captivity included Joy Samuel (33, who died with her newborn), Doctor Dogara Maisamari, Yusuf Bawa (about 31–34; ages differ between accounts), Gaius Yusuf (5), and Devine Sunday (7). All of the men who were abducted died in captivity. The remaining five survivors—Hanatu Yusuf, 52; Celina Maichibi, 46; Hasana Bulus, 13; Faith Kefas, 14; and Sylvia Samuel, 4—were released on 1 November after a ransom was paid (including three motorcycles) and returned home on 2 November. Hasana Bulus, seriously ill from her captivity, died on 3 November in a hospital in Kachia. A 10 November report by Christian Daily International / Morning Star News, citing local residents, said 4-year-old Silvia (Sylvia) Samuel also died shortly after her release, and that Faith Kefas had died in captivity—an account that does not match CSW’s list of survivors. Both claims remain unconfirmed. The same report cited Amnesty International Nigeria as saying Joy Samuel died after giving birth on 28 August, and that the baby also died.

A house-to-house shooting.

Several villages were attacked. Baptist pastor Andy Samuel was killed on his way to church.

According to The News Chronicle: gunmen (reported to have been speaking Fulani) attacked a civilian watch post in the Sabon Angwa community, about a mile from the church, at around 7 p.m. on 29 October and killed 4 people; in the early morning of 30 October they killed 1 person in Rakung, about 600 metres from the church. Two days earlier, 7 people were killed in Gyero, in the Gyel area on the southwestern edge of Jos. On 1 November Pastor Dachomo wrote on X that he feared for his safety. It is not clear whether he was the target of the attacks.

About 17 gunmen stopped a van carrying a body home for burial, abducted 6 Christian mourners, and left the body by the road. About an hour later, another group abducted 1 traveller returning from a funeral roughly a mile away. The local government chairman said on 3 November that they had still not been rescued (a single source, unconfirmed).

At about 5 p.m., as the market was closing, gunmen opened fire in several parts of the community for more than two hours. Pastor Terungwa Tyonungo and three other people were killed.

Rev. Monday Habu, a pastor of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ (ERCC), was abducted by gunmen in the early morning. The church called for stronger patrols on the Akwanga–Gudi road. As of the source’s writing, police had not publicly confirmed the case (unconfirmed).

The village was attacked at about 12:30 a.m. (other reports said midday). CSW and local groups confirmed that Irimiya Galadima (41) and Benjamin Danlami (about 31–32) were killed, and that about 20 people were abducted (mostly women and children, the youngest about four months old). Through Punch on 6 November, the local Kuturmi Unity Development Association (KUDA) published a list of 20 abductees: Usman Galadima, La'a'zarus Genesis, Madalin Markus, Happy Stephen, Lovet Ishaya, Afiniki Irimeya, Amina Ahmadu, Miracle Genesis, Hellen Irimeya, Musa Genesis, Janet Irimeya, Gloria Markus, Zila Stephen, Alis Ahmadu, Haske Ahmadu, Great Isiac, Hanatu Irimeya, Desmon Ishaya, Siam Shagari, and Nansy Genesis (spellings as in the original report). Daily Post put the number abducted at 21; the figures differ and remain unconfirmed. As of 7 November, the human-rights group HURIWA was still calling for their rescue, and there had been no report of a release. Public confirmation by the police remains unconfirmed. The same village had seen a schoolchild abduction in April.

Christian Solidarity International (CSI) launched a three-month advocacy campaign, “Christians in Nigeria: Under Siege,” focused on Christian communities in the Middle Belt attacked by Fulani militants and others, and cited figures including those from ORFA in a call for international attention.

Fr. Peter Kwen of the Catholic Diocese of Gboko was ambushed by gunmen while returning from Makurdi, left injured and unconscious by the roadside, and later rescued and survived. Local residents said the attackers were believed to be Fulani bandits (unconfirmed). There had been no public police confirmation or report of an arrest.

Gunmen opened fire in a night attack on Bel village. Three villagers and one soldier were killed, and several people were wounded. The Berom Youth Movement named the villagers killed as Emmanuel Pam Dachung, 15; Joseph Gyang, 28; and Emmanuel Yohanna, 32. In a separate attack on the Lakas community, 2 people were killed. Residents said these are predominantly Christian farming communities, and that villagers were afraid to go to their fields to harvest or to go to church. As of 10 November there had been no arrests. A further account (a 10 November report by Christian Daily International / Morning Star News and a Berom Youth Movement statement) said that at about 5 p.m. the same day, Danladi Badung, a 65-year-old villager, was killed in Gwol-Hoss village, Riyom; and that in Bel, Bala Kefas Dachung (26) and Vivian Christopher (26) were wounded, the latter seriously, and treated at Jos University Teaching Hospital. That report said the three villagers killed in Bel were Christians. Counts differ between sources (the Berom Youth Movement said 5 were killed in Bel and Gwol-Hoss together; ICC said at least 6 were killed in Bel and Lakas) and should not simply be added together. The identity of the attackers is based on residents’ accounts and remains unconfirmed.

TruthNigeria, citing Rev. Manasseh Mbafe, secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Hong, said Boko Haram had destroyed more than 100 Christian homes in Graha; that eight surrounding communities, already emptied, were entirely Christian; that an EYN (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) church was razed on 8 October; and that a military post at Garaha-Mojili was overrun on 30 September. On 8 November the military repelled an attack at the Zangula Kilba junction in Gombi (2 militants were killed); on 9 November it rescued 3 kidnapped civilians in Mubi South. Displaced residents said homes and churches had still not been rebuilt. The figures for homes and churches destroyed come from a single source and remain unconfirmed.

Gunmen entered a mining site in the evening and opened fire, killing 3 people. Resident Bulus Shen and Berom Youth Movement spokesperson Rwang Tengwong confirmed the attack and called on the security services to pursue those responsible. The report did not state the identity or faith of those killed (unconfirmed), and the attackers were not identified. The military and police had not responded.

Two pastors, Hills Emmanuel and Gabriel Joseph Dipak, were travelling in the same vehicle when it was attacked. Emmanuel was found dead the next day; Dipak was later released. Open Doors, citing a witness, said the kidnappers focused their attack after identifying the two men as pastors. A first report by the local newspaper Premium Times could not independently confirm the attackers’ identity from the police, and 4 other people killed in separate attacks should not be added to the death toll for this case.