12 Christians killed in Nigeria

Terrorists from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) killed at the very least 12 people and burned a church constructing in an attack on a Christian village in northeastern Nigeria’s Adamawa State, based on the international Christian aid organization Barnabas Aid.

Separate attacks by Islamic State and other groups elsewhere within the country were also reported.

The group claimed responsibility on social media, saying “soldiers of the Caliphate” raided the village of Kubako and killed what it called “12 Christian combatants” on April 21, Barnabas Aid reported last week.

The organization said the Islamic State has used the word “combatants” in recent propaganda to explain Christians and Jews who refuse to convert to Islam or accept subjugation under Islamic rule.

On the identical day in northern Adamawa State, suspected Islamists killed Emmanuel Ezeokwe, a church minister within the village of Zinai.

Separately, militants attacked the village of Guyaku within the Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State overnight, killing at the very least 29 people last Sunday, based on The Associated Press.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for that assault on the Telegram messaging platform.

Adamawa State Gov. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri visited Guyaku last week and condemned the attack.

The Guyaku attack occurred the identical night gunmen raided an orphanage in north-central Nigeria and abducted 23 pupils, based on the AP. Fifteen were later rescued.

The facility, Dahallukitab Group of Schools, was in an isolated area of Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, and had been operating without authorization, the state’s commissioner, Kingsley Femi Fanwo, said. No group claimed responsibility for that incident.

It was not immediately clear which of two major Islamic State-linked militant groups operating in Nigeria carried out the Guyaku attack.

ISWAP operates primarily within the northeast, including Adamawa State. A separate group, known locally as Lakurawa, is more lively within the north-central states of Sokoto and Kebbi. Kubako lies just inside Adamawa State near the border with Borno State, where ISWAP has killed tons of of civilians and Nigerian soldiers.

Northeastern Nigeria has been the first theater for each ISWAP and Boko Haram, an Islamist armed group that has waged an insurgency within the region for greater than 20 years.

Nigeria ranks fourth on the Global Terrorism Index and recorded the most important increase in terrorism-related deaths of any country in 2025, with fatalities rising 46%.

The United States sent 200 troops to Nigeria earlier this 12 months to coach Nigerian forces to fight Islamist militants. The deployment got here in phases, with personnel based at multiple locations to support training and coordination. Nigerian authorities said the troops wouldn’t engage in combat but would supply technical guidance, including air and infantry operations.

The decision followed a U.S. air campaign on Dec. 25, when a U.S. warship launched missiles at two suspected Islamic State camps in Nigeria. Nigerian military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Samaila Uba said on the time the federal government had requested expanded U.S. support.

A spokesperson for U.S. Africa Command said the threat from West African militant groups is serious and ongoing.

The deployment also followed comments from President Donald Trump, accusing the Nigerian government of allowing mass killings of Christians and warning of potential aid cuts or increased military pressure if the attacks continued. Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu denied the accusations, saying each Christians and Muslims have been victims of the insurgency.

Church leaders in Nigeria have for years described the pattern of Islamist killings within the north and Middle Belt region as an anti-Christian genocide, with tens of hundreds of Christians killed over the past 15 years.

© The Christian Post