A fresh wave of violence has claimed at least six lives in central Nigeria, as intercommunal clashes erupted in the Bassa and Mangu local government areas of Plateau State over the weekend.
Among the deceased are women and children, with a further 12 people hospitalised following injuries sustained during the separate attacks, according to local sources who requested anonymity due to safety concerns.
The first assault was reported in Ancha community in Bassa LGA, while the second occurred in Gyenbwas Rinji village in Langai district, Mangu LGA, residents confirmed on Monday.
Local leaders and security officials are yet to provide a definitive casualty figure, but both communities have been severely affected by a long-running cycle of reprisal attacks between farming and herding communities.
Just a day earlier, four people were killed and two injured in Uwok-Ishe community, also in Bassa, as violence continues to disrupt agricultural activities and deepen tensions.
Garba Abdullahi, Plateau State Chairman of the Gan Allah Fulani Development Association (GAFDAN), said the victims of the Bassa incident were herders who went missing around 3 a.m. while grazing cattle. Their bodies were later found near Ancha.
“The herders were dragged from the grazing site to Ancha and killed. We’ve reported the incident to the police and Operation Safe Haven,” Abdullahi stated.
In Gyenbwas Rinji, two additional fatalities were reported, including a woman, with multiple homes destroyed in what residents described as a premeditated dawn assault.
Aliyu Adamu, who lost his brother in the violence, said gunmen stormed the village around 7 a.m., shooting indiscriminately. “They killed my brother and another woman. Several homes were burned,” he said.
The Nigerian military has been deployed to the area, but residents continue to express concern over inadequate security presence.
