More than 4,200  Christians have been killed in Nigeria so far this year, according to a new report calling for stronger action to protect communities facing violence across the country’s Middle Belt.

The assessment by US-based  Christian nonprofit Equipping the Persecuted (ETP) recorded 4,216 Christian lives lost between January 1 and September 8 – equivalent to nearly 17 deaths a day, or roughly one every hour and a half.