The Egbira of Nigeria

The Egbira of Nigeria, numbering approximately 2,395,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an agrarian Nupoid people of Kogi State who trace their descent to the Kwararafa confederation at Wukari, migrating out around 1680 AD after a chieftaincy dispute, with deeper roots tied to Central Nigeria's ancient Nok Iron Age culture. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Ebira is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Ebira (igb)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 2,395,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013314
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Pray for the Egbira 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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ebira
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Ebira Speakers

Media Resources in Ebira:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Ebira:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1981 Bible Society of Nigeria✓

1 entry

Or check out the Ebira bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Egbira 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 Egbira:
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 Egbira of Nigeria

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
readRomans 5:10

Pray that any who may be enemies of God will grasp the depth of God's love demonstrated through Christ's death for the ungodly, and be reconciled to Him.

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.
readActs 13:48-49

Pray that the gospel will spread throughout this whole region and that many will believe and embrace the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
readColossians 2:6-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be rooted and built up in Him, abounding in thanksgiving for the grace and mercy He has shown them.

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
readPsalm 23:3

Pray for believers to go and share the gospel with others here. Ask that God will restore their souls and lead them in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Igbirra Across Countries (ROP3 - 103962) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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