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People group profile · PG014191

The Yigha of Nigeria

The Yigha of Nigeria, numbering about 22,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are one of four related Upper Cross River ethnolinguistic groups of Yakurr in Nigeria's Cross River State, alongside the Legbo, Lenyima and Lekpeti, whose speakers are commonly multilingual in Efik and Yakurr.

They are an indigenous people in the Benue people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism, and they primarily speak Leyigha.

Pray for the YighaPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Yigha people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Yigha

Fast facts

Country
Nigeria
Population
22,500
Affinity group
Sub-Saharan African Peoples
People cluster
Benue
Primary language
Leyigha (ayi)
Primary religion
Protestantism
Strategic Progress Index ?
No Longer Unreached
Evangelical
2% or Greater but Less than 5%
GSEC ?
2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
Lostness priority ?
Marginally Reached People Group
Region
Western Africa, Africa

Where they live

Gospel status

The Yigha are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical.

  • Congregations exist Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Yigha

  • Pray for the churches among this group to grow in faithfulness and maturity
  • Equip believers to reach the unreached peoples around them
  • Send out laborers from this people to the nations

Primary religion

Protestantism · Christianity

65% adherents

Primary language

Leyigha · Atlantic-Congo family

100% speak Leyigha

Gospel resources in Leyigha

  • Bible not available
  • JESUS Film not available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources not available
  • Bible stories not available

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Yigha

  1. Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
  2. John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
  3. Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
  4. Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.

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