Dozens have been killed in barbaric violence in Nigeria, according to Nigeria’s presidency, amid conflict between farmers and herders in the country’s central Nasarawa state.
At least 45 farmers were slain in the violence that started on Friday, according to a statement released late Tuesday by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. It was reported that dozens more people were injured.
Buhari “expressed anguish” over the “heartbreaking” killings and promised that his government will “leave no stone unturned in locating and prosecuting the culprits of this senseless and cruel tragedy.”
According to local authorities, armed Fulani herdsmen attacked peasants from the Tiv ethnic group after a kinsman was killed, which they blamed on Tiv farmers. The turmoil lasted until the following day, Sunday.
Dozens have been killed in barbaric violence in Nigeria. The police first reported an eight-person death toll.
Ramhan Nansel, a spokesman for the Nasarawa state police, said earlier that military and police teams had been dispatched to the region to restore peace and apprehend the criminals.
“We received a complaint on the killing of a Fulani herdsman but while the investigation was ongoing, a reprisal attack was carried out in Hangara village and neighboring Kwayero village,” Ramhan Nansel,
“Eight people were killed in the attacks and their bodies were recovered by the police and taken to hospital.”
But Peter Ahemba of the Tiv Development Association said the death toll was higher.
“We recovered more than 20 corpses of our people killed in the attacks in 12 villages across Lafia, Obi, and Awe districts where around 5,000 were displaced,” he said, adding that many people were still missing.
In central Nigeria, deadly conflicts between nomadic cattle herders and local farmers overgrazing and water rights are regular.
In recent years, the internecine strife has taken on an ethnic and religious dimension. The Fulani herders are predominantly Muslim, whereas the farmers are predominantly Christian.
Droughts, population increase, the development of sedentary farming into communal areas, and bad governance all contributed to the conflict, which dates back over a century.
The situation has been exacerbated by violence perpetrated by criminal gangs of cow thieves among the herders, who invade settlements, killing and destroying homes after plundering them.
Abdullahi Sule, the governor of Nasarawa State, has committed to pursuing killings of Fulani herders and Tiv farmers.
“There was a needless loss of lives of our citizens. Such act of violence is most unfortunate, condemnable, and unacceptable and will not be condoned by this administration,” he told reporters.
