December 18, 2025 — Dalena Reporters
A new security report has identified the names of at least 82 Nigerian victims killed in a spate of religiously and terror-related attacks between November 23 and December 17, 2025, raising alarm over escalating violence attributed to jihadist militants, allied armed groups and, in some cases, alleged actions by state security personnel, civil liberties advocates said on Thursday.
The report, compiled by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) and released to coincide with the post-77th anniversary of the World Human Rights Declaration, also documented 147 abductions and widespread property destruction across several states.
According to Intersociety’s findings, the victims included pregnant women, newborns and children under 10, with four Christian clerics among those killed and at least 314 schoolchildren reportedly abducted during the period. The group claimed that 800–850 Christians remain held in jihadist camps around forests in Kaduna State, despite the proximity of major military formations.
Intersociety’s list of victims includes detailed names of those killed. Among them were Francis Orkeen, Ortega Msughaondo and Amba Tseke, killed by Fulani jihadist militants in New Gboko, Takum area of Taraba State; and Mngusuun Terdue, Imghoga Oraenyi, Tomuter Tulen and others ambushed and killed in Tse-Ajogo and Nyanmve villages of Rafin Kada, Wukari County, also in Taraba State.
Several families also suffered multiple deaths in a single incident; 17 returning Christian internally displaced persons (IDPs) were killed in the Taraba attacks, the report stated. Christian children aged 3, 7 and 9 years, Precious Joshua, Mary Joshua and Isaac Joshua — and a 3-year-old named Eve Sambo were among those slaughtered by militants in Barkin Ladi, Plateau State, on December 14, 2025.
In Adamawa State, Intersociety alleged that 11 defenseless women and a child were allegedly killed by troops of the 23 Brigade in Yola on December 8, with 51 others injured and dozens hospitalized in Numan and Yola hospitals.
Other killings cited in the report included the assassination of Pastor Moses Wada, assistant pastor of Dunamis Church, who was killed on December 7, 2025, along the Enugu–Kogi Road amid an attack in which the presiding pastor, his wife and congregants were abducted.
The report also highlighted attacks in Kogi State, where members of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church were killed and 20 others abducted, and in Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, Edo and Imo states, all areas that experienced violent incidents during the period under review.
Intersociety also drew attention to 26 Catholic parishes including St Paul’s Central Parish in Aye-Twar (Agu Centre) of the Katsina Ala Diocese, Benue State that were attacked by jihadist militants between late 2024 and December 2025. Parish records cited by the rights group indicate more than 3,900 parishioners were displaced, 936 houses destroyed, and at least 32 parishioners killed in coordinated assaults.
In response to the findings, Intersociety called for the prosecution of the commander of the 23 Army Brigade, whom the group accused of involvement in the Adamawa killings, and urged a comprehensive investigation into alleged jihadist infiltration of military units. The report also demanded the dissolution and reconstitution of Nigeria’s Federal Council of Ministers and senior security leadership, citing alleged ethno-religious imbalance and violations of constitutional protections for security and religious freedom.
The rights group further urged the repositioning of thousands of soldiers and police officers from roadblocks in the South-East and South-South to regions experiencing the worst of the violence especially the Middle Belt and northern states.
The report’s release adds to a contentious debate over insecurity in Nigeria, where violence has included jihadist insurgencies in the northeast, criminal kidnappings, and attacks impacting communities of all faiths. Government figures and independent analysts differ on motivations and religious dimensions of specific attacks, but the human cost particularly for vulnerable civilians continues to draw scrutiny from local and international observers.