The Buta-Ningi of Nigeria

The Buta-Ningi of Nigeria, numbering approximately 37,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of Nigeria. They are an Indigenous people, in the Benue people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Folk Islam. They primarily speak Hausa.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Buta-Ningi

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Hausa (hau)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 37,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013708
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Pray for the Buta-Ningi 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: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Hausa
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

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Media Resources in Hausa:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Hausa:

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Or check out the Hausa bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Buta-Ningi

The Buta-Ningi are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Buta-Ningi

The Buta-Ningi 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.

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

Next steps for the Buta-Ningi

The Buta-Ningi 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Buta-Ningi of Nigeria

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God".
readRomans 3:10-11

Pray that God will have mercy on those living in broken relationship with Him, and that He will bring many to surrender and repentance at the throne of grace.

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
readDaniel 7:13-14

Pray that the gospel will advance so that all peoples will come to know the Son of Man, who has been given dominion and glory and a kingdom, and that they will bow before Him and serve Him forever.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
read2 Corinthians 9:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God in all things, especially in times of persecution.

You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
read2 Corinthians 1:11

Pray that many people will join in praying for the spread of the gospel here, and that God will answer these prayers by drawing more people to Himself.

Buta-Ningi (ROP3 - 117450) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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