A new investigation has documented 20 major attacks on churches and mosques across Nigeria between 2011 and 2025, revealing a deadly pattern of bombings, shootings, and mass abductions targeting worshippers of both faiths.
The report, published recently by HumAngle, chronicles assaults that have left hundreds dead and dozens kidnapped in some of the country’s most violent episodes.
According to the data, churches were the primary targets between 2011 and 2015, during the peak of Boko Haram’s sectarian campaign. From 2016 onwards, mosques increasingly came under attack as extremists turned their guns and explosives toward Muslim clerics and congregations perceived as opposing their ideology.
By 2022, the report noted, terrorists and militias attacked both churches and mosques largely for ransom or reprisal, blurring the line between ideology and criminality.
A catalogue of devastated worship spaces
Among the 20 verified attacks, HumAngle highlighted some of the deadliest:
- St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla (2011): At least 40 killed in a Christmas Day bombing.
- COCIN Headquarters, Jos (2012): A suicide bomber struck during service, killing several.
- St. Finbarr’s Catholic Church, Jos (2012): Car bomb killed 14 worshippers.
- Kano Central Mosque (2014): Twin suicide blasts and gunfire left about 80 dead.
- Mubi Mosque, Adamawa (2017): Teenage bomber killed 50.
- Ozubulu Catholic Church, Anambra (2017): 12 worshippers shot dead.
- Mubi Mosque (2018): 86 killed in twin suicide attacks.
- Mazakuka Mosque, Niger (2021): 18 killed during dawn prayers.
- St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo (2022): 41 killed, over 70 injured in a coordinated bomb and gun attack.
- Unguwan Mantau Mosque, Katsina (2025): 27 worshippers shot dead during morning prayers.
- Gidan Turbe Mosque, Zamfara (2025): 40 worshippers abducted.
HumAngle said each incident was cross-verified using data from ACLED, the Nigeria Security Tracker, official statements and field investigations.
“Every line of the database is a broken family,” one researcher told the platform.
Who was targeted?
The report’s analysis shows shifting waves of violence:
- 2011–2015: Churches, especially in the North-East and North-Central, were frequent targets of Boko Haram suicide bombings.
- 2016–2021: Mosques became primary targets as terror factions assassinated or bombed Muslim clerics who criticised them.
- 2022–2025: Both churches and mosques suffered attacks linked to ransom kidnappings, reprisals or territorial control.
A cycle of violence and impunity
The investigation found that only one of the 20 attacks — the 2022 Owo massacre — has resulted in federal-level prosecution.
Most remain uninvestigated or classified as incidents carried out by “unknown gunmen”.
“Justice in Nigeria moves slower than grief,” a human rights lawyer told HumAngle. “When the killers are never named, the dead are never remembered.”
A geography of fear
The attacks mapped in the report show distinct regional patterns:
- North-East: Suicide bombings and IED attacks on both churches and mosques.
- North-West: Terrorists storming mosques during early morning prayers.
- North-Central: Attacks on churches and kidnappings of priests.
- South: Fewer but high-impact strikes such as the Owo church massacre.
The report describes how many places of worship now operate under heavy security, with evacuation drills, armed volunteers and reinforced barriers becoming routine.
A national, not sectarian, tragedy
The report emphasizes that worship-site violence in Nigeria does not fit the simplistic narrative of one religion targeting another.
The perpetrators, the report argues, include jihadist groups, bandit militias, and local armed factions — with motives ranging from ideology to ransom to vengeance.
“The debate over whether Christians or Muslims suffer more attacks trivialises the shared grief,” the report concludes. “Nigeria’s crisis of worship-site violence is a national failure of protection and justice.”
