Nigeria is a federal republic made up of 36 states and one territory. This vast nation (the size of France, the United Kingdom and Ireland combined) is the most populous African nation, with 490 ethnic groups and a total population of at least 130 million.

Some of the Kanuri tribes do not yet have a translation of the Bible in their native dialect; others tribes have only portions of the Bible. Kanuri main tribes consist of the Yerwa Kanuri, the Manga Kanuri, and Kanembu Kanuri.