InterSociety reports 3,083 Christians killed and 3,193 abducted in Nigeria from January through August 2026
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, an advocacy NGO, released its own eight-month tallies of Christians killed and abducted in Nigeria. The figures are InterSociety’s counts and definitions, not a United Nations or Nigerian government census. The group said July and August losses were concentrated in Plateau and Benue. This brief records the data drop, not an independent audit.
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The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (InterSociety) released a report in Enugu on Sunday claiming that 3,083 Christians were killed and 3,193 abducted in Nigeria from January through August 2026 in attacks it attributed to Islamic jihadist groups, Daily Post reported on September 7. The report was signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, InterSociety’s lead researcher; Chidinma Evangeline Udegbunam, head of campaign and publicity; and Obianuju Joy Igboeli, head of civil liberties and rule of law.
InterSociety said about 90 percent of the attacks it recorded were carried out by what it called jihadist Fulani herdsmen and bandits. It put July and August together at 437 Christians killed and 393 abducted, and August alone at 138 killed and 180 abducted, with many of those attacks concentrated in Plateau and Benue states. The group also said 25 Catholic priests, pastors, and other Christian clergy were killed, abducted, or otherwise assaulted from January through August. It said the figures were compiled from primary and secondary sources, including residents, survivors, and eyewitnesses in affected communities, under its own definitions.
InterSociety estimated that about 19,800 churches have been attacked or destroyed in Nigeria since July 2009. Every number in this brief is InterSociety’s claim. The group’s mid-year report, covered by Daily Post in July, also counted 1,050 Muslim civilians killed and 1,150 abducted in a broader January–June tally, alongside the Christian figures. This brief does not treat the eight-month figures as a census and does not apply a genocide label.
Sources
Daily Post Nigeria: 3,083 Christians killed, 3,193 abducted in eight months – InterSociety (Sep 7, 2026)
https://dailypost.ng/2026/09/07/3083-christians-killed-3193-abducted-in-eight-months-intersociety/Daily Post Nigeria: 3,550 Nigerians killed within six months – Intersociety (Jul 4, 2026)
https://dailypost.ng/2026/07/04/3550-nigerians-killed-within-six-months-intersociety/
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Corrections and updates
- Update, September 7, 2026: Brief prepared from Daily Post coverage of InterSociety’s Enugu release and Daily Post’s July coverage of the same group’s mid-year tally. An eight-month InterSociety PDF was not located on intersociety-ng.org when this brief was prepared. All casualty and church-attack figures are InterSociety’s own tallies and definitions, not a UN or government census. This brief does not adjudicate genocide framing.