A group, Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, (ORFA), has released a startling statistics on the activities of terror groups in Nigeria, which revealed that 79,323 people, were killed and 34,773 others abducted in terrorism-related violence in the last six years.

In the new report made available to newsmen in Jos on Tuesday, ORFA, expressed regrets unfortunately the outside world was oblivious of this disturbing trend.

In the report, entitled:”Four Times Boko Haram? How the World Misreads Nigeria’s Violence” signed by ORFA Senior Research Analyst Mr. Frans Vierhout, the group said that the scale of the violence was “ in an average of seven attacks per day” and “an average of 36 people each day” between 2020 and 2025.

“79,323 people were killed in Nigeria between 2020-2025 – an average of seven attacks per day. More than 42,000 were innocent civilians,” the statement said.

ORFA, in the report, said it also monitored the state of religious freedom, documented rights violations, and transmitted same to decision-makers through advocacy.

It stated that, Researchers spent years cross-referencing attack patterns — and the data gathered overturns longstanding assumptions.”

“The breakdown shows that of the number of people killed, 42,033 were civilians; Security Forces and Terror Groups make up 37,290 deaths.”

The investigation challenged the perception that Boko Haram and ISWAP are the primary drivers of violence.

“Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) — the terror groups most blamed for violence — together carried out 12% of civilian killings: Boko Haram 8%, and ISWAP 4%,” the report stated.

It found that “Militias categorised as ‘Fulani Terror Groups’ killed 44% of all civilians — four times the killing of Boko Haram and ISWAP combined.” In specific figures: “*Fulani Terror Groups killed 44% of civilians (18,577); Boko Haram and ISWAP combined killed 12% (4,941).”

ORFA also reported on the distinction between perpetrators and ethnicity, stating, “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.”

While stressing that the patterns were hard to ignore, Vierhout said “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. .

“Violence linked to Fulani militias is the dominant force behind Nigeria’s death toll. The Western preoccupation with Boko Haram is, at best, misleading,” he added. “*Nigeria is incubating a terror network which the outside world has yet to acknowledge.”

The report documented “34,773 civilians abducted” over the six years, with “ ‘Fulani Terror Groups’ and ‘Unidentified Terror Groups’ carried out 43% and 49% of abductions respectively.”

The investigation found that “75% of civilians were killed in community attacks and raids on farming settlements involving abduction, rape and destruction of property.

Citing the religious dimension, ORFA said, “Twice as many Christians were killed; 28,551 Christians as against 13,224 Muslims, noting that “when Christian loses are examined in terms of state populations, Christians were killed at 4.4 times the rate of Muslims in affected states.”

ORFA described a “‘Captivity by Creed’” pattern based on survivor accounts. “Muslim captives face lower ransoms and less violence; Christians face higher ransoms, greater likelihood of execution. Christian women face sexual violence*,”

“Christian abductions numbered 15,932 and Muslims 15,272 in total over the period,” the report noted. However, “Christian hostages face higher ransoms, longer negotiation periods, worse violence and greater risk of execution – even after their families have paid in full.”

“The field research reveals a lesser value is assigned to a Christian life,” said Steven Kefas, Senior Research Analyst and author of _‘Captivity by Creed: the religious sorting system nobody talks about.’_

“From the moment of capture, Muslim and Christian hostages enter different realities. It is not about individual captors. It is a system – consistent across multiple states, armed groups, and multiple years of survivor testimony,” Kefas said.

ORFA said it recorded “Up to 60 data elements for each violence incident” using “5 data streams,” including its primary research base, local partners, academic projects, media/NGO reports, and validated social media.

While recognising the issue of terrorism called for a broader response, the group emphasized the need to acknowledge that without a full accounting of the religious dimensions of violence in Nigeria, attempts to find solutions remained incomplete.

The group said that its full report could be accessed through its website http://orfa.africa. (The Sun)

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