reports of 394 kidnappings and the murder of 139 priests and devotees in the past 18 months.

 reports of 394 kidnappings and the murder of 139 priests and devotees in the past 18 months.

Between January 1, 2021, and July 4, 2022, many attacks around the nation claimed the lives of at least 139 religious leaders and worshipers.

Additionally, 394 members of the clergy were abducted during the time period under consideration.

The statistics were compiled from media accounts of deliberate attacks on mosques and churches.

A breakdown of the incidents revealed that although 229 Christians were kidnapped, 86 Christians were killed, while 53 Islamic clergy and worshipers were killed and 165 were kidnapped.

The assassination of a Catholic priest and three parishioners in Benue on March 30, 2021, is one of the more notable attacks.

In an attack on a church on April 13, gunmen reportedly killed one person and kidnapped four others, while on that same day, a pastor was assassinated in an Abuja church.

On March 26, gunmen also abducted eight people from the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Kaduna.

50 Muslims were abducted on a Maulud procession in Katsina on March 11 by alleged bandits.

On May 10, armed men reportedly kidnapped 40 worshipers after breaking into a mosque in Katsina. Three parishioners were kidnapped and one person was killed in a church in Kogi in September.

Furthermore, on October 25 in Niger state, armed thugs reportedly kidnapped 18 individuals and shot 17 others dead inside a mosque.

Similar to this, on March 10, 2022, robbers allegedly broke into a mosque in Kaduna and kidnapped 24 people.

On April 3, three people were abducted from an Ogun mosque, including a police officer.

Armed herdsmen attacked Abia on June 4, kidnapped a pastor and his wife, and stabbed another individual. On June 6, an attack on the St. Xavier Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo state, is said to have left 40 people dead.

In addition, it was reported that on June 19, gunmen attacked Catholic and Baptist churches, killing four people and kidnapping 44 others, while on June 22, in Sokoto, 21 Muslim pilgrims were kidnapped.

In the most recent attacks, gunmen kidnapped two Catholic priests in Edo on July 3 and another priest was taken hostage in Kaduna on July 4.

Onike Abdul-Azeez, the Nasrul-Lahi-l-Fatih Society's Chief Missioner, entrusted the government with protecting places of worship and counseled religious adherents to take responsibility for their own security by installing surveillance cameras, metal detectors, and other security measures.

Sheikh Nuru Khalid, a former imam of the Apo Legislative Mosque in Abuja, claimed that the attacks on places of worship were a sign that no place in the nation was safe.

"According to the scriptures, places of worship served as havens for those fleeing conflict. We are all in jeopardy if Nigerian places of worship are now being assaulted, the speaker said.

Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, the spokesman for the Christian Association of Nigeria, responded by saying, "The church is helpless, and we are only praying to God that whoever succeeds President Buhari will not continue what he or she is doing. This is another reason why we are against the Muslim-Muslim ticket because they are in charge of the security and political thugs."

Security expert Mike Ejiofor criticized the targeting of clerics as sad, particularly given that the goal was to either make money or inspire people to rebel against the government and seek international recognition.

He urged the government to monitor and guarantee that security agencies are able to provide security in addition to funding them.

In a similar vein, Mr. Patrick Agbambu asserted that the protection offered by governmental institutions was only secondary, with persons and groups being responsible for their own security and safety.