ENUGU – On Sunday, August 10, 2025, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) released a report alleging that over 22 Islamic terror groups, primarily foreign bandits, are operating in Nigeria with the intent to “obliterate” an estimated 112 million Christians and 13 million traditional religionists, particularly in the South-East, South-South, and North Central regions, as reported by News Express Nigeria and Vanguard. The report, signed by Intersociety’s Chairman Emeka Umeagbalasi, claims these groups, operating under suspected state protection, have killed 7,087 Christians and abducted 7,800 in the first 220 days of 2025, with Benue State recording 1,100 deaths, including the Yelewata massacre (280 deaths, June 13–14, 2025). Since 2009, the groups have allegedly massacred 185,009 Nigerians, including 125,009 Christians and 60,000 moderate Muslims, sacked 1,100 Christian communities, and seized 20,000 square miles of ancestral lands, with Plateau, Benue, Niger, and Southern Kaduna hardest hit.
Intersociety reported that 19,100 churches and 2,500 Christian schools have been attacked or destroyed, with 500 Christian clerics, including 160 Catholic priests, abducted since 2009, and 11 killed since 2015. The group accuses the terror groups, led by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and allied with groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP, of aiming to ban Christianity and erase indigenous ethnic identities, drawing parallels to Sudan’s anti-Christian campaigns. The report calls for Nigeria’s redesignation as a “Country of Particular Concern” by the U.S. and sanctions on Fulani leaders, per Catholic World Report. X posts from @isumunna and @NewsScrollngr (August 12, 2025) amplified the report, while @APCWatchNG dismissed it as exaggerated, citing government efforts against banditry. The claims, unverified by independent sources, highlight ongoing religious and ethnic tensions, with 15 million Christian IDPs generated since 2009, per Intersociety’s data.
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