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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Conflict & Security

79,323 killed, 34,773 abducted in Nigeria in six years – Report

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Documents & data Context piece
  • A six-year investigation reveals 79,323 people killed and 34,773 abducted in Nigeria between 2020 and 2025.
  • The report challenges the notion that Boko Haram and ISWAP are the primary drivers of violence, attributing most killings to 'Fulani terror groups'.
  • The findings suggest Nigeria is developing a significant, underacknowledged terror network, with Christians disproportionately affected.

A comprehensive six-year investigation by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) has uncovered staggering figures of violence in Nigeria. Between 2020 and 2025, an estimated 79,323 people were killed and 34,773 civilians abducted. The report, titled “Four Times Boko Haram? How the World Misreads Nigeria’s Violence,” was released in Jos, Plateau State.

79,323 people were killed in Nigeria between 2020 and 2025, an average of seven attacks per day. More than 42,000 were innocent civilians.

— Observatory for Religious Freedom in AfricaPresenting key statistics from the six-year investigation.

The study reveals an average of seven attacks and 36 deaths per day over the six-year period. Of the total deaths, 42,033 were civilians, while security forces and terror groups accounted for 37,290. The investigation directly challenges the widespread perception that Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) are the main perpetrators. According to the report, these groups were responsible for only 12% of civilian killings combined (8% by Boko Haram, 4% by ISWAP).

Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the terror groups most blamed for violence, together carried out 12% of civilian killings: Boko Haram 8%, and ISWAP 4%.

— Observatory for Religious Freedom in AfricaChallenging the dominant narrative about the primary drivers of violence.

Instead, the report identifies "Militias categorised as ‘Fulani Terror Groups’" as the dominant force, responsible for 44% of all civilian killings, which is four times the number attributed to Boko Haram and ISWAP combined. These groups killed 18,577 civilians, compared to 4,941 by Boko Haram and ISWAP. ORFA stressed that this distinction is crucial, separating armed Fulani terror groups from the Fulani people as a whole. The report also noted a religious dimension, stating that "Twice as many Christians killed as Muslims," with 28,551 Christians among the victims. Frans Vierhout, Senior Research Analyst at ORFA, warned that "Violence linked to Fulani militias is the dominant force behind Nigeria’s death toll," and that "The Western preoccupation with Boko Haram is, at best, misleading." He cautioned that "Nigeria is incubating a terror network which the outside world has yet to acknowledge."

Militias categorised as ‘Fulani Terror Groups’ killed 44% of all civilians, four times the killings of Boko Haram and ISWAP combined.

— Observatory for Religious Freedom in AfricaHighlighting the significant role of Fulani militias in civilian killings.
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Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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