At least 3,083 Christians were killed and 3,193 others abducted across Nigeria between January and August 2026, according to a chilling new report released by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (InterSociety).

The Enugu-based civil society organization also revealed that at least 19,800 churches have been attacked or destroyed nationwide since July 2009. Furthermore, 25 Christian clerics—including Catholic priests and pastors—were either killed, abducted, or assaulted in the first eight months of this year alone.

The comprehensive report was jointly signed by Board Chair and Lead Researcher Emeka Umeagbalasi, alongside Head of Campaign and Publicity Chidinma Evangeline Udegbunam, and Head of Civil Liberties and Rule of Law Obianuju Joy Igboeli.

According to InterSociety’s data, compiled from primary testimonies, survivors, and eyewitnesses, the months of July and August 2026 alone accounted for 437 deaths and 393 abductions. The group attributed approximately 90 per cent of these ideologically motivated attacks to radical Fulani herdsmen and allied bandit groups.

In August alone, 138 Christians lost their lives and 180 were kidnapped. While the fatalities were heavily concentrated in north-central states like Plateau and Benue, as well as Adamawa and Kaduna, the abductions spanned multiple regions, including Kogi, Ondo, Imo, Edo, and Enugu states.

The report highlighted a worrying trend on interstate highways, claiming that roughly 70 per cent of those abducted in August were Igbo travellers from the South-East heading toward Abuja and Lagos. Among the victims identified were National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members transit through Kogi State, and a 10-month-old infant abducted alongside six others in Ndegwu, Imo State.

The report underscored the catastrophic structural toll on Christian institutions. Church destructions rose from 19,400 at the end of 2025 to nearly 19,800 by August 2026.

A devastating new report has detailed the catastrophic toll of ongoing violence on religious institutions across Nigeria, highlighting severe casualties and mass displacement. In Taraba State, the Wukari and Jalingo Catholic Dioceses have been severely hit since September 2025, resulting in 230 churches destroyed and 200 villages sacked. The violence has also seen 8 parish houses razed, forcing 16 priests to flee and leaving over 100,000 parishioners displaced from their homes.

The destruction extends deeply into Benue State, where the Universal Reformed Christian Church (NKST) has faced immense devastation from armed agrarian attackers. The denomination has reported a cumulative loss of 5,987 members and the destruction of 753 churches. These figures underscore the widening scope of the security crisis affecting agrarian communities and their local places of worship.

Meanwhile, the historic and ongoing Boko Haram insurgency continues to ravage the northeastern states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa. The Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (EYN) has been particularly targeted, with estimated casualties reaching 21,000 members alongside hundreds of destroyed worship centers. Together, these statistics paint a grim picture of the escalating threats faced by faith communities across multiple regions of the country.

InterSociety concluded its brief by calling on the Federal Government and national security agencies to deploy urgent, targeted protection for vulnerable communities, highway commuters, and places of worship, while raising questions regarding the accountability of state security apparatuses in affected regions.