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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kanufi of Nigeria

The Kanufi of Nigeria, numbering approximately 21,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a small ethnic group living today in the Jema'a District of Jema'a Division of Kaduna State in Nigeria (Olson 1996, p. They are an Indigenous people, in the Benue people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Kanufi.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Kanufi (kni)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 21,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013907
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Pray for the Kanufi of Nigeria

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kanufi
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

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Media Resources in Kanufi:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Kanufi:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kanufi bible resources at Bible.com

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Next steps for the Kanufi

The Kanufi 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 Kanufi

The Kanufi 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 Kanufi

The Kanufi 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 Kanufi of Nigeria

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
readProverbs 30:5

Pray that those who don't yet know God will trust the flawless Word of God and seek refuge in Him, finding hope and salvation instead of remaining in spiritual darkness.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that the gospel will advance and many will acknowledge that all have sinned, fall short of God's glory, and need a Savior to reconcile them to God.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
readIsaiah 9:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in the coming of the Prince of Peace because He will bring everlasting peace and rule with justice and righteousness.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father sends me, even so I am sending you."
readJohn 20:21

Ask God to raise up and send out believers cross-culturally who will go out in His authority and be sustained by His peace as they share the gospel with the lost.

Kanufi (ROP3 - 104597) 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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