A bus carrying mostly Muslim wedding guests was attacked in Nigeria’s Plateau State, resulting in eight deaths, according to a local official and a survivor on Saturday.
The incident occurred amidst heightened tensions in the region, which has recently seen a series of deadly assaults.
Residents in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State have been on edge following recent suspected killings of dozens of people by ethnic Fulani nomadic Muslim herders.
The long-standing conflict in the state involves clashes between Fulani herders and settled farmers, many of whom are Christian, primarily over land and resources.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu had ordered a crackdown on violence in the region earlier this month.
Ibrahim Umar, a survivor of Friday’s attack, recounted that the 31 people on the bus were travelling from Zaria to Qua’an Pan for a wedding when their driver became lost and stopped for directions.
“We approached a community at about 6 p.m., stopped, and asked for the way to Qua’an Pan. Some of them said, “These are Hausa people, so let us kill them.” Umar told AFP from a hospital where he is receiving treatment.
He described how attackers “seized the bus that we were in; they started smashing it with sticks, machetes, and stones. They beat us, and eight among us died,” adding that four people were still missing. The bus and seven bodies were set on fire.
Emmanuel Bala, the Mangu Local Government Council Chairman, confirmed the incident, stating that local villagers were on high alert due to the recent wave of attacks.
He noted, “It is unfortunate that innocent people, Hausa Muslims, were attacked and killed by ‘a mob.'” Bala personally verified the eight fatalities.
This attack follows another incident two weeks prior in Benue State, where gunmen killed 25 people in two separate assaults.
