An Onitsha-based human rights organisation, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has raised alarm over what it described as a growing wave of Islamic jihadism threatening Africa’s estimated 750 million Christians.
In a report signed by its Board of Trustees Chairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi, and other researchers, the group claimed that violence against Christians across the continent remains persistent, with Nigeria identified as a major hotspot.
According to the report, Africa’s Christian population—estimated at about half of the continent’s 1.5 billion people—is facing threats from between 40 and 50 Islamic extremist groups operating across Africa, the Middle East and other regions.
The group alleged that some of the armed organisations receive funding from foreign sponsors and radical networks, though it did not provide independent verification for the claims.
Among the groups listed were ISIS-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Boko Haram, Ansaru, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awatti (JAS), Jamaa’at Nusrat al-Islam (JNIM), Islamic State in Greater Sahara, Islamic State Sahel Province and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), among others.
Intersociety further claimed that Nigeria currently hosts at least 22 terrorist groups, making it the country with the highest concentration of such groups in Africa.
The report alleged that between December 2024 and February 2026, Nigeria recorded significant attacks against Christian communities, including thousands of deaths and abductions, as well as the destruction or closure of hundreds of churches and worship centres.
The organisation said its findings were based on data it monitored, tracked and archived over time.
It also traced the growth of Christianity in Africa from an estimated 10 million adherents in the early 20th century to about 750 million in 2025, warning that failure to address extremist violence could reverse that growth over the coming decades.
The group called for urgent and coordinated action to prevent further escalation, cautioning that sustained insecurity could have long-term demographic and social consequences for the continent.
Security analysts have long identified extremist violence as a significant challenge in parts of Africa, particularly in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions, though figures and projections often vary depending on sources.
David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka
Follow us on:
