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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Maabas of Nigeria

The Maabas of Nigeria, numbering approximately 22,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Nigeria They are an Indigenous people, with Vemgo-Mabas as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Chadic people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism. They primarily speak Vemgo-Mabas.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Maabas

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Chadic
Primary Language(s): Vemgo-Mabas (vem)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 22,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013976
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Pray for the Maabas of Nigeria

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

75%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Vemgo-Mabas
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Vemgo-Mabas Speakers

Media Resources in Vemgo-Mabas:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Vemgo-Mabas:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Vemgo-Mabas bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Maabas are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Maabas:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Maabas of Nigeria

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Pray for those ensnared by the darkness of this world, that they will recognize the spiritual forces at work and turn to the light of Christ.

Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.
readActs 18:8

Pray that rulers and leaders will access the gospel, respond in faith, and be baptized, uniting with Christ and His Church, and influence others to follow Him.

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
readRomans 10:13

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and sometimes have doubts, God will help them remember and trust the power of Jesus to save them from their sins.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:11

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will put on the full armor of God so that they will be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy.

Vemgo-Mabas Across Countries (ROP3 - 105952) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
MabasPG012667MabasCameroon16,000Engaged yet UnreachedVemgo-MabasSunni Islam
MaabasPG013976MaabasNigeria22,000Engaged yet UnreachedVemgo-MabasAnimism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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