Nigeria recorded 79,323 deaths and 34,773 civilian abductions linked to terrorism and violent attacks between 2020 and 2025, according to a new report by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa.
The six-year investigation, unveiled in Jos on Tuesday, said the figures underscore the scale of the country’s worsening security crisis, with an average of seven attacks and 36 deaths recorded daily during the period under review.
The report, titled “Four Times Boko Haram? How the World Misreads Nigeria’s Violence,” was accompanied by a statement issued by ORFA’s Senior Research Analyst, Frans Vierhout.
According to the findings, 42,033 civilians lost their lives, while 37,290 deaths involved security personnel and members of terrorist groups.
ORFA said the report was compiled after years of cross-checking attack patterns using multiple data sources, including field investigations, local partners, academic projects, media reports, non-governmental organisations and verified social media records.
The organisation argued that the findings challenge prevailing narratives surrounding insecurity in Nigeria.
It claimed that while Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province have largely been blamed for terrorism in the country, the two groups accounted for only 12 per cent of civilian killings during the review period—eight per cent and four per cent respectively.
In contrast, the report alleged that armed groups it classified as “Fulani Terror Groups” were responsible for 44 per cent of civilian deaths, representing 18,577 killings, compared to 4,941 deaths attributed to Boko Haram and ISWAP combined.
However, ORFA stressed that it was distinguishing between the armed groups identified in its report and the broader Fulani ethnic population.
“ORFA is careful to distinguish between armed Fulani terror groups and the Fulani people as a whole, the vast majority of whom are not involved in violence,” the report stated.
Commenting on the findings, Vierhout said the data revealed a consistent pattern after analysing victims, attack locations, operational methods and seasonal trends.
“The data makes this very difficult to ignore. We look at how killing occurs, who they target, where they operate, the seasonal fluctuations of killings, and the evidence points strongly in one direction,” he said.
He added that international attention remained disproportionately focused on Boko Haram despite what the organisation described as changing patterns of violence across the country.
On kidnappings, the report said 34,773 civilians were abducted within the six-year period, alleging that the groups it classified as “Fulani Terror Groups” accounted for 43 per cent of the cases, while unidentified armed groups were responsible for 49 per cent.
The report also examined the religious dimension of the violence, claiming that 28,551 Christians and 13,224 Muslims were killed between 2020 and 2025.
It further alleged that Christian victims were killed at a higher rate than Muslims in affected states after adjusting for population figures.
ORFA also claimed that Christian and Muslim abductees experienced different conditions in captivity.
According to the report, 15,932 Christians and 15,272 Muslims were kidnapped during the review period. Citing survivor accounts, it alleged that Christian hostages generally faced higher ransom demands, longer negotiations, harsher treatment and a greater risk of execution, even after ransom payments.
Senior Research Analyst at ORFA, Steven Kefas, said survivor testimonies pointed to what he described as a consistent pattern across several states and armed groups.
The report further stated that 75 per cent of civilian deaths occurred during attacks on farming communities, often involving abductions, rape and destruction of property.
