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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

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
readPsalm 73:26

Pray that those who are lost and struggling to find hope will find their strength and hope in God, recognizing Him as their portion and deliverer forever.

Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
readPsalm 96:2

Pray that gospel resources will reach this generation so that they will receive the good news and sing to the LORD, bless His name, and tell of His salvation each day.

In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
readPsalm 56:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord's promises, knowing that He will uphold them with His righteous right hand.

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
readJeremiah 29:7

Pray that God will lead the lost among them to followers of Jesus who will share the gospel with them so that they may believe and take the message of hope to their families and friends.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
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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