ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has alleged that more than 19,100 Christian churches have been razed or sacked in Nigeria in the past 16 years since the Boko Haram uprising of July 2009, averaging 1,200 churches annually, 100 monthly, and more than three every day.
In a statement made available to VONa, Intersociety described the scale of attacks on Christian communities as “unprecedented,” blaming Islamic jihadists and their enablers within Nigeria’s security, defense, and political establishments.
“By our recent investigative checks, Nigeria is home to an estimated 113 million Christians,” the group stated.
“But since 2009, Islamic Jihadists and Jihad enablers have caused an estimated 1,200 Christian churches to be razed or sacked on yearly basis, during which 19,100 churches in all were lost.”
The organization explained that between July 2009 and December 2014 alone, about 13,000 churches were attacked, burned, or destroyed, while an additional 6,100 have been lost since 2015, particularly in states such as Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Niger, Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, Yobe, Kebbi, Nasarawa, and Kogi.
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Intersociety also alleged that security forces used counterinsurgency operations in the Southeast as a pretext to destroy “white clothing churches” affiliated with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
“Church facilities belonging to such white clothing churches have also been falsely labeled as training camps for IPOB/ESN agitators, leading to their attack and destruction by security forces,” the statement said.
The group warned that Catholic dioceses across the North, including Kaduna, Jos, Makurdi, Minna, Kontagora, and Lokoja, have been severely weakened.
“Thousands of parishes and outstations have been uprooted and emptied,” it noted, adding that Benue State’s four dioceses, home to the largest Catholic population in Northern Nigeria, “have been threatened and almost uprooted by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen.”
Intersociety stressed that its findings were based on multiple credible sources, including local and international media, human rights researchers, religious leaders, diplomatic bodies, and field investigations.
“Our monitoring and tracking are aimed at identifying perpetrators of such heinous crimes, their victims, and the communities desecrated; and ensuring justice for victims and adequate measures or punishments visited upon the perpetrators to deter others,” the statement signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Obianuju Joy Igboeli, and Chidinma Udegbunam, read.
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Citing past reports, Intersociety highlighted that the Boko Haram insurgency between 2009 and 2014 alone destroyed 13,000 churches and 1,500 Christian schools, killed up to 12,500 Christians, and displaced over 1.3 million people.
It also recalled that in 2020, the Church of the Brethren (EYN) disclosed the killing of 8,370 of its members and the destruction of 300 of its 586 branches.
The group further pointed to recent cases, including the May 2025 attacks in Benue State, where 14 Catholic parishes were forced to shut down after over 50 parishioners were massacred by armed herdsmen, and the August 2025 desecration of St Paul’s Parish in Katsina-Ala.
Warning of worsening religious persecution, Intersociety said: “Attacks on Christian churches and uprooting of their congregational members across Nigeria have left several dioceses in a state of near-empty church buildings and evangelical devastation.”