The Tigon Mbembe of Nigeria

The Tigon Mbembe of Nigeria, numbering approximately 52,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Jukunoid-speaking people of the Cameroon-Nigeria border region, distinct from the unrelated Mbembe of Nigeria's Cross River area despite the shared name, inhabiting a region of West Africa long noted for its dense linguistic diversity. They mostly adhere to Animism and Tigon Mbembe is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Tigon Mbembe (nza)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 52,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG014130
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Tigon Mbembe 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

90%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tigon Mbembe
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Mbembe, Tigon Speakers

Media Resources in Tigon Mbembe:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Tigon Mbembe:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Tigon Mbembe bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Tigon Mbembe are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Tigon Mbembe:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Tigon Mbembe of Nigeria

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
readIsaiah 53:6

Pray that those who have wandered far from God will be drawn back to Him, recognizing their need for a Savior and finding forgiveness and new life in Christ.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
readJohn 6:35

Pray that the lost will come to Jesus and believe in Him, never to hunger or thirst again.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples."
readJohn 8:31

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Christ daily, depending on Him for every need.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
readColossians 1:20

As believers cross cultures to tell others about Jesus, praise God for allowing them to be a part of His reconciling all things to Himself, asking Him to help them remember their role in His beautiful plan of salvation for others.

Mbembe, Tigon Across Countries (ROP3 - 110049) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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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