The Islamic terror group Boko Haram has destroyed an Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN) church and carried out abductions across Adamawa State, according to local Christian leaders, who describe the attacks as part of a campaign driving indigenous Christian communities from their homes.
The church, affiliated with the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, was destroyed on 8 October 2026, local clergy told TruthNigeria. Reverend Mannaseh Mbafe, secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) chapter in Hong Local Government Area, confirmed the destruction. Christian leaders said eight communities whose populations were entirely Christian had been displaced.
The Islamic attack on Christians has also involved abductions and looting. Ibrahim Samuel, liaison media officer for EYN District Church Councils in Shaffa, told TruthNigeria that Boko Haram fighters struck Zdur, near Tashan Alade, and abducted students returning from final examinations at the College of Education Waka-Biu.
The Islamic terror group Boko Haram also seized two cars, one tricycle and an unspecified number of farmers from Galanduwa, Samuel said. He urged parents to contact their children and establish whether they were safe, adding that the number of students and other civilians abducted remained unknown.
Christian farmer David Isaac separately told TruthNigeria that shops, chemists and pharmacy stores were looted, and several residents remained missing, either killed or abducted.
Eight Christian communities displace
Mbafe described the attacks as a systematic campaign against indigenous Christians. “What we are passing through is a systematic and calculated genocide against indigenous Christians,” he told TruthNigeria. “Thousands have been displaced. We have been conducting mass burials of Christians.
Eight Christian communities have already been completely displaced. Our communities that are being erased are 100 percent Christian. We have lost count of loved ones lost to Boko Haram terrorists,” he said.
According to Mbafe, the eight villages were entirely Christian before the attacks. Homes and compounds have been abandoned, while farming families have been forced to flee. He said the violence threatened to separate Christian residents from their ancestral land. “The pictures of the recent mass burials you have seen are recent,” Mbafe told TruthNigeria.
CAN and EYN officials warned that Christian farming communities could disappear unless residents are protected and displaced families can return. They described the Islamic terror attack on Christians as a continuing threat to homes, livelihoods and churches.
Abductions and attacks across Adamawa
Tabitha Yusuf, a young woman who survived the violence, told TruthNigeria that civilians were being targeted and that Christian identity was central to the attackers’ hostility. “Neither women nor children are spared,” Yusuf said. “They kill the men and kidnap the women for sex slavery. Our only offense is that we are Christians. They came in the night and killed dozens of Christians on 1st October and now even on following days. The Boko Haram terrorists have not stopped; they are still coordinating the attacks and killing of Christians.”
Yusuf described sudden raids, burned homes, killings and abductions in hamlets across Hong. She said men were shot and women taken captive. The Islamic attack on Christians has left residents fearful of further raids and uncertain about missing relatives.
TruthNigeria reported in a 20 August post that attacks had increased across Adamawa since January. In January, Boko Haram attacked Mubang and Zar in Hong Local Government Area, while suspected fighters struck Kirchinga in Madagali Local Government Area.
In February, twin attacks in Shuwari and Kirchinga killed 25 people, the report said. Further attacks on Guyaku and Telabala in Gombi Local Government Area killed 29 people, with the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) claiming responsibility. The military separately reported killing 30 terrorists during operations targeting Boko Haram, ISWAP and JAS elements.
Local Christian leaders say the church’s destruction, displacement of eight Christian communities, looting and abductions demonstrate the danger facing residents. The number abducted in the latest incidents remains unclear, while church representatives call for protection for residents and safe returns for displaced families.
Local leaders say the attacks have left families separated, farms abandoned and church life disrupted, while uncertainty over missing people continues to deepen fear among residents in affected Christian communities.
