Report: In Eight Months (Jan-August 2026)-Nigeria’s Islamic Jihadists Killed 3,083 Christians And Abducted 3,193; Attacked 400 Churches, Killed Or Abducted 25 Priests/Pastors, Killed 437 Christians And Abducted 393 In July And August 2026 Alone-As EYN And NKST Churches Lost 27,000 Members And Thousands Of Churches To Islamic Jihadism In Nigeria Since July 2009

Enugu, Eastern Nigeria: Sunday, Sept 6, 2026: 138 Christians Killed For Their Religious Faith In August 2026 And 180 Abducted: Our collected statistics for months of July and August 2026 using primary and secondary sources of data collection (https://intersociety-ng.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/July-August-2026-Collected-Data-On-Jihadist-Attacks-Against-Christians-And-Their-Churches-In-Nigeria-Particularly-In-The-Middle-Belt-Saturday-Sept-5-2026.pdfhave) have indicated that in the month of August 2026 alone, no fewer than 138 defenceless Christians were killed for their peaceful religious Faith by Islamic Jihadists. Many of the attacks in the month of August are also found to have taken place in Middle-Belt States of Plateau and Benue. No fewer than 180 defenceless Christians were also found to have been abducted.

Pastor Gabriel, abducted by Jihadists in Plateau State on August 28,2026

Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and Jihadist Fulani Bandits are found to have accounted for no fewer than 90% of the attacks. The above was also corroborated by local residents, survivors, and eyewitnesses in the communities where the attacks had taken place. It is again reminded that scope of our reports on Religious Persecution and Violence since 2009 is restricted to religiously motivated attacks-perpetrated by Nigeria’s Islamic Jihadist groups, physically and digitally numbering at least 22; found to have been aided by armed state actors driven by Islamic radicalism including Government Islamization Agenda. According to our detailed Report of August 9, 2026(https://intersociety-ng.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Over-6000-Igbo-Land-Christian-Families-Could-Not-Locate-Their-Sons-And-Daughters-Since-Jan-2021.pdf)“299 defenceless Christians were killed and 213 abducted in the month of July 2026 alone”.

Statistics Of Slain Christians For August: The August 2026 attacks included no fewer than 15 Christians killed in Plateau State between August 2 and 12 as reported by Morning Star of August 14; as much as 30 Christians massacred in Benue State on August 16; close to 30 Christians killed in Plateau State between August 17 and 18 as reported by Barnabas Aid of August 18; eleven suspected Christians killed between August 17 and July 26 in the predominant Christian hometown of two former secretaries to the Government of the Federation: Babachir Lawal and Boss Mustapha in Adamawa State; five Christians killed in Plateau State on August 26; abduction and gruesome murder of a Pastor and four others in Platea State on August 28; killing of two Christians in Kaduna State on August 22; killing of five Christians between August 25 and Sept 1 in Riyom, Plateau State, among others. The total number of slain Christians for the month of August 2026 included added 35 Christian deaths, representing “dark figures” such as 10% deaths arising from the 180 abducted Christians who are most unlikely to return to their families alive.

Pastor Hills Emmanuel, abducted and killed by Jihadists in Plateau State on August 28,2026

Statistics Of Abducted Christians For Month Of August: The list of August 2026 abducted Christians included no fewer than 92 Christian travellers, mostly from the East, abducted by Islamic Jihadists in two days of August 9 and 13 in Benue, Kogi and Ondo States; five Christians abducted by Boko Haram in Adamawa State between August 17 and July 26; no fewer than 25 mostly Eastern Christian travellers abducted on August 26 in Kogi State including 15 National Youth Service corps members; seven Igbo Land Christians including a 10-Month-Old baby abducted on August 17 in Ndegwu, Owerri West, Imo State; abduction of two pastors in Plateau State on August 28 (Gabriel and Emmanuel) and gruesome murder of (Pastor Hills Emmanuel, an evangelical pastor in Bokkos, abduction of six teenage Christian wood hawkers and another adult Christian on August 24 in Edo State wood forest; abduction of two Christians in Southern Kaduna on August 22; abduction of at least five Christians, out of the nine abducted near ancestral Igbo Market of ‘Nkwo Idoko on August 27 in Ojukwu District of Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi State; abduction of six Igbo Land Christians by suspected Fulani Jihadists in boundary part of the communities of Amaja and Igogoro in Enugu-Ezike District of Enugu State in late August 2026; totaling 151 abducted Christians and addition of 30 abducted Christians-representing “dark figures”; totaling 180 Christian abductions as having been minimally recorded in the month of August 2026 alone

More Than 120 Or 70% Of The Abducted Christians In August Are From Igbo Land The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (InterSociety) is disclosing from its gathered and analysed statistics that no fewer Than 120 or about 70% of the abducted 180 Christians in the month of August 2026 are from Igbo Land. Apart from Igbo Land Christians being the dominant travellers in the Eastern part of the country, it has been further established that at least 70 of the 92 Eastern travellers abducted in two days of Sunday, August 9, 2026 and Thursday, August 2026 are independently found to be Igbo Land Christians-traveling to Lagos and Abuja; using about five commercial vehicles including at least three 18-Seater Buses, 14-Seater Toyota Hiace Bus and an 8-Seater Sienna Vehicle. From the video clip of a little Igbo girl-child that boarded an 18-Seater Bus (belonging to Sunny Bright Mass Transit) conveying her, her father and possibly 17 others to Lagos on August 13, 2026 before being intercepted, attacked and abducted at Ore in Ondo State by those local residents, survivors and eyewitnesses identified as “Muslim Fulani Militants”. Many, if not most of the passengers that boarded the remaining three buses and Toyota Sienna in Kogi and Benue States between August 9 and 13 are also Igbo Land Christians. Security sources said that among the above was the Sharon Bus with registration number Kogi ERE 138 AE while the Sienna car bore registration number BB 362 MKA and another bus belonging to Peace Mass Transit with fleet number 2838. No fewer than 40 passengers were involved in the attacks that took place on Sunday, August 9, along Itobe-Achigili-Anyigba Highway in Ofu part of Kogi State. In Benue State, Igbo Land Christians also dominated the list of more than 14 passengers abducted along Otukpo-Adoka Road on their way to Abuja on August 9, 2026. The Igbo Land victims are Ngozi Stephen and Joshua Daniel; and out of the 15 Corpers abducted along the Ofu/Itobe–Onicha-Igo Road in Ofu LGA of Kogi State on August 26, 2026 their way to Abuja, the following ten of them are young Igbo Land Christians: Eke Onyinye (F), Johnson Samuel (M), Okuagba Chimerie (F), Ann Odinaka (F), Nwoba Chinedu (M), Nwaegbuna Favor (F), Sunday Chisom Sandra (F), Egbo Innocent (M), Ngwu Charles (M) and Eze Chidinma.

They were among no fewer than 25 mostly Eastern passengers traveling to Abuja on that fateful day using 14- Seater bus belonging to Peace Mass Transit and another 14-Seater bus belonging to Romchi Mass Transit and marked 564. Also out of the remaining 10-15 other passengers, majority are likely Igbo Land Eastern Nigeria Christian passengers. No fewer than 15 Igbo Land local Christian residents were also abducted by jihadists within Igbo Land locations; out of which seven Christians including a 10-Month-Old Baby were abducted by Muslim Fulani Militants on August 17, 2026 in Ndegwu, Owerri North of Imo State. Six other Igbo Land Christians were also abducted late August 2026 in Amaja and Igogoro communities of Enugu-Ezike in Enugu State. It is therefore likely correct to say that no fewer than 120 or about 70% Igbo Land Christians were abducted in August 2026 alone, out of the estimated total of 180 Christians abducted by Islamic Jihadists across Nigeria. This is in addition to “dark figures”.

Islamic Jihadist Killing Of 3,083 Christians And Abduction Of 3,193 In Eight Months Of 2026 (Jan-August): Our collected and analyzed statistics dating back since January 2026 have indicated that no fewer than 3.183 defenseless Christians were hacked to death by Nigeria’s Islamic Jihadists, joined by their political state actor and armed state actor aiders and abettors across the country; during which no fewer than 3, 193 were abducted. Findings from our collected and analyzed statistics further indicated “no fewer than 2,550 Christians were killed and 2,800 abducted from January to June 2026. This is contained in our Report of July 2, 2026 (https://intersociety-ng.org/2026-mid-year-report-2550-christians-killed-2800-abducted-300-churches-destroyed-800-converted-to-islam/). Available on our website is the grand summary of our Detailed Report on attacks on Christians and destruction of churches covering July 2009 to March 2026 (https://intersociety-ng.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Africa-Tsunamic-Islamic-Jihadism-Sweeping-And-Menacingly-Threatening-Africas-750m-Christians-Targeting-To-Obliterate-Them-From-2100AD-To-2125AD-1.pdf)

Attacked Or Destroyed Churches In Nigeria Have Risen To 19,800: The number of attacked or destroyed churches in Nigeria since July 2009 is likely to have risen to estimated 19,800 as of August 2026. As of December 2025, estimated at 19, 400 churches were found to have attacked or destroyed; and risen to estimated 19,700 as of end of June 2026; and estimated 19,800 as of end of August 2026. Apart from the fact that the months of July and August 2026 recorded scores of attacks on churches in Nigeria, the sharp increase in their numbers came from continued and sustained attacks on churches by Muslim Fulani Militants in Wukari and Jalingo Dioceses of the Catholic Church where at least 230 churches belonging to the Church and others have been attacked or destroyed between Sept 2025 and end of August 2026, out of which, no fewer than 200 have been attacked or destroyed since January 2026. The number did not include those attacked or destroyed under Jalingo Diocese. No fewer than 25 members of the Christian Clergy or Priests and Pastors have also been attacked, abducted or killed since the beginning of January 2026. The number was 20 as of June 2026 and increased to 25 in the past two months of July and August 2026.

The Muslim Fulani Militants’ Attacks On Christians And Churches In Taraba State That Destroyed 230 Churches And Uprooted Over 100,000 Parishioners In Sept 2025-August 2026: Our recent updates have indicated that not less than 230 churches were attacked or destroyed by the combined forces of Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and Jihadist Fulani Bandits under Wukari Diocese of the Catholic Church in Taraba State, covering Sept 2025 to end of August 2026; during which more than 100,000 Catholic Parishioners were uprooted and forced to flee and 200 Christian villages sacked and displaced. At least 16 Catholic Priests were also forced to flee and Parish Houses of at least eight Catholic Priests razed or burned down. According to the Communique of the Diocese issued in May 2026, “217 churches belonging to Catholic Church and other churches have been destroyed by Islamic militias since Sept 2025, during which more than 90,000 parishioners were forced to flee, 200 communities sacked, eight Parish Houses of the Catholic Priests razed and 16 Priests forced to flee their pastoral duties”. The attacks also forced Catholic Priests and nuns to stage street protests and processions in Feb 2026. Apart from the published attacks not including those that took place in Jalingo Catholic Diocese and other parts of Taraba State, they further recorded an increase between May and August 2026, with dozens more attacked, including over 10,000 worshippers uprooted and more Christian villages displaced. The number of defenseless Christians killed in the area within the period also increased from no fewer than 80 as of April 2026 more than 140 between May and August 2026. Cases of suspected jihadist arson are also on increase and targeted at Church facilities in the area. For instance, on March 4, 2026, fire severely damaged the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Wukari and such attacks have clustered in Chanchanji District in Takum, and in Ussa and Donga, hitting rural farming Christian communities and forcing members of the Diocesan Clergy from Wukari and Jalingo Catholic Dioceses to embark street protests and processions on February 12, 2026 and publicly demanded that their own government step in and stop the killings, the kidnappings, and destruction of their Church Facilities.

The Church Of The Brethren In Nigeria And NKST Church Lost 27,000 Members And Thousands Of Churches To Islamic Jihadists In 17 Years Or Since July 2009: The authorities of the Universal Reformed Christian Church (NKST) and the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (EYN) have lost more than 27,000 members and thousands of churches to Islamic Jihadists in 17 years of July 2009 to August 2026. On June 1, 2020, the EYN spoke through then President, Pastor Billi, disclosing that “the Church lost more than 8,600 members and hundreds of their District worship centers (churches) to Boko Haram particularly in Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba and Borno” and that “out of the 276 abducted Chibok girls in 2014, 217 belonged to the Church”. In 2025, Counsel Emmanuel Ogebe, a respected international human rights lawyer, disclosed that the number of members of the Church lost since 2009 has increased to 20,000 and going by the continued jihadist attacks since then, the number is likely to have increased to not less than 21,000. The Universal Reformed Christian Church (NKST), on their part, recently disclosed that “5,987 members of the Church and 753 churches belonging to the Church were lost to Muslim Fulani Militants in Benue State alone”. The NKST stated its position in a statement by the General Secretary of its Synod Executive Committee, Rev. Ta Targba. Targba issued on August 23, 2026.

For: International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law-Intersociety, Nigeria

• Emeka Umeagbalasi, Criminologist and Graduate of Security Studies

Lead Researcher and Head of Intersociety Nigeria

• Chidinma Evangeline Udegbunam, Barrister-at-Law

Head, Department of Campaign and Publicity, Intersociety Nigeria

• Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Barrister-at-Law

Head, Department of Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Intersociety Nigeria

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