At least 23 people have been killed by gunmen in separate attacks in Jos, Plateau State, according to police on Tuesday. This is the latest violence in a region that has long experienced conflicts between herders and local farmers.
Plateau has experienced an increase in tit-for-tat attacks recently because it lies on the line separating the nation’s predominantly Christian south from its predominately Muslim north.
According to Plateau State police spokesman Alfred Alabo, two cattle herders were killed on Sunday before 21 farmers were killed in subsequent attacks in several villages.
“The two herders were killed first while the second attacks were launched later in the night,” he claimed.
“The police commissioner went to the scene of the incident. We are looking into what led to the attack.
The governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang, expressed his sadness over the killings and said the security situation had deteriorated to a “alarming” level in a statement.
He compared the security architecture to an out-of-service engine that needs to be repaired and updated.
According to local officials, attacks in the Plateau’s Mangu district claimed the lives of over 100 people and forced thousands more to flee their homes in May.
In many areas of Nigeria, including the central and northwest states, conflicts over land, resources, and water frequently arise between farmers and nomadic herders.
However, attacks and large-scale kidnappings are frequently carried out by gangs with heavy weapons and vigilante organisations formed to defend communities.
Two herders were fatally shot on Sunday evening while returning home, according to Bello Tafawa, the local leader of the Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN).
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He stated, “We have already reported the case to the local security agencies.
Later on Sunday, according to a local youth community leader named Rwang Tengwong, suspected “herders” killed 21 people in various villages.
He blamed ethnic Fulani herdsmen, saying “Twenty one people were killed and several others injured on Sunday during coordinated attacks.”
In order to manage Nigeria’s numerous security threats, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who took office last month, has urged the country’s armed forces to work together more effectively.
Security forces are still working to put an end to a 14-year-old jihadist conflict in the northeast, as well as tensions related to secession in the country’s southeast and intercommunal violence.
