More than 30 individuals have lost their lives in confrontations between herders and farmers in Plateau State, located in central Nigeria, according to a local official’s statement on Tuesday (May. 16).
Plateau State, situated on the border between Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim north and largely Christian south, has long grappled with religious and ethnic violence.
Dan Manjang, the Commissioner of Information and Communication for Plateau State, informed AFP that the incident has resulted in the loss of more than 30 lives.
The clashes occurred on Monday (May. 15) between herders, who are predominantly Muslim, and farmers, who are generally Christian, as stated by Manjang.
Alfred Alabo, a police spokesperson, reported that the violence unfolded in “various villages” in Bwoi, situated in Mangu district.
Alabo mentioned that a distress call reporting gunshots fired sporadically was received at approximately 11:56 am local time (1056 GMT). In response, security officials were swiftly deployed to the area.
The security forces encountered the “hoodlums,” a term used in Nigeria to refer to criminals, according to the police statement.
The situation in northwest and central Nigeria has transformed from retaliatory killings to broader criminal activities, with heavily-armed gangs perpetrating raids, mass kidnappings, and looting in villages.
Alabo stated, “As we speak, the culprits are on the run while our officers are still on their trail with the aim to ensure that they are neutralised and if possible, arrested.”
To prevent the crisis from spreading to other areas, the chairman of Mangu district has implemented a 24-hour curfew, he added.
In neighboring Benue State, in April, nearly 50 individuals lost their lives in an attack on a village, a violence that local officials attributed to herdsmen.
Benue State has been severely affected by intercommunal clashes between farmers and herders, with the herders being accused of damaging farmland through their cattle grazing.
The President-elect, Bola Tinubu, who assumes leadership of Africa’s most populous nation later this month, will face numerous security challenges.
The country’s military is currently engaged in a battle against a 14-year-old insurgency in the northeast, separatist tensions in the southeast, piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, and kidnappings by armed criminals across the nation.
Following a period of relative calm during the presidential and gubernatorial elections in February and March, violence has surged in recent weeks.