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The Iku of Nigeria

The Iku of Nigeria, numbering approximately 24,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indigenous Plateau people of Kaduna State, particularly the Kachia area, whose Iku-Gora-Ankwa language is closely associated with the Gora and Ankwa communities. They mostly adhere to Animism and Iku-Gora-Ankwa is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Iku-Gora-Ankwa (ikv)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 24,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013853
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Pray for the Iku 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Iku-Gora-Ankwa
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Iku-Gora-Ankwa Speakers

Media Resources in Iku-Gora-Ankwa:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Iku-Gora-Ankwa:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Iku-Gora-Ankwa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Iku 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 Iku:
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 Iku of Nigeria

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
readProverbs 8:17

As many search for hope, pray they will discover materials that will lead them to Jesus and explain the gospel in a way they will resonate with.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
readRomans 5:11

Pray for the gospel to advance and for more people to be brought into God's family through the reconciliation Jesus offers them.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
read1 Peter 2:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will embrace their identity as God's chosen people, royal priests, and holy nation, living out their faith with purity and devotion.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
readPsalm 67:1-2

Pray that as God blesses believers from among this people group or from nearby cultures, He will raise them up to share His saving power among the nations.

Iku Across Countries (ROP3 - 103979) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▲LanguageReligion
IkuPG013853IkuNigeria24,500Engaged yet UnreachedIku-Gora-AnkwaAnimism

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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