During the weekend of Aug. 30–31, 2025, gunmen killed Christians in two attacks in two rural communities in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno State.
On Aug. 30, Boko Haram fighters ambushed and killed five Christians who were working on farms in Ngoshe village in Gwoza County. The following day, Aug. 31, the militant group killed another three Christians who were sleeping in their homes in Mussa village in Askira‑Uba County. Nigerian police and military spokespeople confirmed the two attacks, and local residents said the attacks had increased fear and insecurity in the affected communities.
The news came with little media fanfare, a sad fact that has become all too familiar to targeted Christians. Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South, said the attacks were “heartbreaking” and called the targeting of innocent Christians working in their fields or sleeping with their families “a very cruel act.” He noted that it was the second time in one month that militants had attacked Ngoshe, and his office stressed that “the incessant killing of the people by the terrorists, as well as the burning of dozens of their houses, is worrisome and an indication of the height of the humanitarian and security crisis in Borno.”
This most recent tragedy is part of a broader, ongoing trend of persecution that is the worst in the world for Christians. As was reported last month, in the first 220 days of 2025, over 7,000 Christians have been killed by Boko Haram and Fulani-affiliated “bandits” in Nigeria, and thousands of others have been kidnapped. In 2024, groups like Open Doors estimated that roughly 3,100 Christians were killed and more than 2,000 were abducted in the country.
