Originally published in The Catholic World Report
The International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, Intersociety, states that July and August were perhaps the deadliest months of 2026, with 437 Christians killed and 393 abducted.
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A sobering new report claims that no fewer than 3,083 Christians were killed and 3,193 abducted in attacks allegedly carried out by jihadist groups in Nigeria between January and August this year.
The report, released on Sunday by the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, Intersociety, highlights that July and August were perhaps the deadliest months of 2026, with 437 Christians killed and 393 abducted.
Staggering numbers
Besides the killings and abductions, the report also reveals that 400 churches were attacked and 25 priests and pastors were either killed or abducted.
Most of the killings and abductions, according to the report, have been taking place in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, a region in which the largely Muslim population in the north meets the largely Christian population in the South.
Wukari Diocese in Taraba State alone recorded a remarkable number of atrocities: about 239 Church buildings attacked or destroyed between September 2025 and August 2026, and nearly 100 000 parishioners uprooted and forced to flee their communities. In addition, over 200 Christian communities were sacked and displaced. Sixteen Catholic priests were forced to flee, and the residences of eight priests were destroyed.
The report further indicates that the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria and the Universal Reformed Christian Church collectively lost more than 27 000 members and thousands of churches to attacks since July 2009.
In 2020, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria reported that it had lost more than 8 600 members and hundreds of district worship centres to Boko Haram. In a similar breath, the Universal Reformed Christian Church said it lost 5 987 of its members and 753 churches.
The latest Intersociety report reflects a broader picture of what the organisation considers religiously motivated violence in Nigeria.
Since 2009, when Boko Haram began its murderous campaign to create a caliphate across the Sahel, at least 19 800 churches have been attacked.
Intersociety Lead Researcher and Principal Head Emeka Umeagbalasi told CWR that the death toll for Christians in Nigeria since 2009 has reached a staggering 130 783. Mr. Umeagbalasi, a devout Catholic, further said that at least 82 603 Christians have been kidnapped or abducted during this time. He warns that there is a 20% chance these victims will never return to their families or their faith alive.
Islamisation and the question of “genocide”
Global persecution watchdogs have warned that Christians in Nigeria are facing an agenda of Islamization.
“Nigeria has been the most violent place in the world for followers of Jesus for several years,” says Open Doors, explaining that the imposition of Sharia Law in 12 northern states makes life for Nigeria’s Christians increasingly tenuous.
Global Christian Relief describes the West African nation as “a global epicenter for the martyrdom of Christians,” explaining that each year, at least 4 000 Christians are killed by extremist organisations in Nigeria, which is “a figure that often surpasses the combined total of Christian deaths from persecution everywhere else in the world.”
Church and civilian leaders in Nigeria and across the globe have offered contrasting views of what’s going on with Christians in the country that hosts about 113 million Christians.
In September last year, American comedian and popular television host Bill Maher pointedly said Nigerian Christians were facing a “genocide”. He said the Boko Haram group had “killed over 100 000 since 2009, they’ve burned 18 000 churches”.
US Senator Ted Cruz offered a similar diagnosis, writing on X that “since 2009, over 50 000 Christians in Nigeria have been massacred, and over 18 000 churches and 2 000 Christian schools have been destroyed.”
The US politician accused Nigerian authorities of “ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists…”
President Donald Trump, echoing these words, has described Nigeria as a “disgraced country”, saying the government “continues to allow the killing of Christians”.
Even the United Nations has suggested that Nigeria’s violence largely targets Christians. On June 8 2026, UN experts warned of rights violations against women and girls from Christian and other religious minority communities.
Citing the Sharia Laws in force in 12 northern states, as well as the application of blasphemy codes, the experts noted that “violence targeting Christians and other religious minorities continues to be rampant”.
“We are particularly alarmed at the very specific and heightened risks of discrimination, violence and exploitation that Christian women and girls are exposed to, as we continue to document grave cases of sexual violence, abductions, acts tantamount to enforced disappearances, forced conversion and child marriage amongst them,” the experts said.
“In many cases, those who resist are reportedly threatened, punished, disappeared or killed,” they added.
But the Nigerian government pushed back, arguing that “terrorists attack all who reject their murderous ideology – Muslims, Christians, and those of no faith alike.”
Intersociety reports suggest this contradiction: between 2009 and March 2026, 128,750 Christians were killed, and 61 400 moderate Muslims were killed.
During that same time, 81 100 Christians and 50 000 moderate Muslims were abducted.
While there is no doubt that moderate Muslims have also been victims of jihadist attacks, Bishop Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe of Makurdi says there is no ambiguity, insisting that what’s going on in Nigeria is a genocide against Christians.
“The total elimination of the Christian population is underway. It is a genocide at the hands of jihadists,” warns Bishop Anagbe.
His diocese in Benue State — 98% of the population is Christian — has become a hotbed for violence.
Mgr Anagbe describes a relentless campaign in which jihadists massacre civilians, raze churches, and torch farmland, driving communities from their homes to occupy the land.
He calls this a “calculated strategy of Islamisation.” To illustrate the horror, he highlighted the Yelewata massacre: approximately 200 people were killed, many burned alive in a locked room, including two babies just three and five months old.
Umeagbalasi told CWR that if the current trend continues, Christianity could be wiped out from Nigeria in the next 100 years.
“It’s a genocide, by any definition,” he said.
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