79,323 Killed, Nearly 35,000 Abducted in Nigeria Since 2020 — ORFA

The Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) has reported that 79,323 people were killed and 34,773 civilians abducted in terrorism-related violence across Nigeria between 2020 and 2025.

The findings were presented in a report titled, “Four Times Boko Haram? How the World Misreads Nigeria’s Violence,” unveiled in Jos and contained in a statement issued by ORFA Senior Research Analyst, Frans Vierhout.

According to the report, Nigeria witnessed an average of seven violent attacks and 36 deaths every day during the six-year period.

ORFA disclosed that civilians accounted for 42,033 of the deaths recorded, while 37,290 involved security operatives and members of armed groups.

The organisation said its investigation involved years of analysing and verifying attack patterns, with findings it believes challenge widely held views about the causes of violence in Nigeria.

The report stated that Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) together accounted for 12 per cent of civilian deaths. Boko Haram was linked to eight per cent, while ISWAP accounted for four per cent.

However, ORFA alleged that groups it identified as “Fulani Terror Groups” were responsible for 44 per cent of civilian killings, representing 18,577 deaths, compared with the 4,941 deaths attributed to Boko Haram and ISWAP combined.

The organisation clarified that it was not referring to the Fulani ethnic group as a whole, stressing that the vast majority of Fulani people were not connected to acts of violence.

Explaining the findings, Vierhout said the organisation studied attack methods, victims, locations and seasonal trends in reaching its conclusions.

“The data makes this difficult to ignore. We examined how killings occur, who is targeted, where attacks take place and seasonal fluctuations. The evidence points strongly in one direction,” he stated.

ORFA maintained that international attention has largely concentrated on Boko Haram while overlooking other forms of organised violence across the country.

On kidnappings, the report recorded 34,773 civilian abductions during the period under review. It attributed 43 per cent of the cases to “Fulani Terror Groups” and 49 per cent to “Unidentified Terror Groups.”

The report also pointed to what it described as a religious aspect of the violence, noting that 28,551 Christians and 13,224 Muslims were killed between 2020 and 2025.

ORFA further claimed that Christians in affected areas suffered killings at rates higher than their population share.

In a separate publication titled, “Captivity by Creed: The Religious Sorting System Nobody Talks About,” ORFA Senior Research Analyst Steven Kefas referenced survivor accounts alleging that Christian and Muslim hostages were treated differently by kidnappers.

According to the publication, Christian victims often faced larger ransom demands, longer negotiations, harsher treatment and greater risks of execution. It also alleged that Christian women faced higher risks of sexual violence.

The organisation said 15,932 Christians were abducted during the review period, compared with 15,272 Muslims.

ORFA added that 75 per cent of civilian deaths occurred during attacks on farming communities involving abductions, destruction of property and sexual violence.

The study, according to the organisation, used up to 60 data points for each incident collected from field research, local collaborators, academic materials, media and NGO reports, as well as verified social media evidence.

ORFA urged policymakers and stakeholders to recognise what it described as the religious dimensions of insecurity in Nigeria, saying responses to violence would remain incomplete without addressing those issues.

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