Armed men killed at least 56 people on the night of Thursday, April 18 to Friday, April 18 in the state of Benue (in the center of Nigeria), said an official of the governor on Saturday, April 19, reviewing an earlier report of 17 dead.
“The attack attacks were 56 dead, according to a last count,” said Solomon Iorpev media advisor to the AFP after Governor Hyacinth alia went there.
Clashes between nomads and sedentary
The confrontations between nomadic breeders and sedentary farmers on the use of the land are frequently violent in the center of the country.
Governor Alia had previously assigned attacks in the areas of the local government of UKUM and logo to “alleged shepherds.”
Many breeders who belong to the Muslim ethnic group Fulanis and many farmers are Christians, clashes in the center of the country often acquire a religious or ethnic dimension.
Two attacks of armed men not identified at the beginning of the month in the neighboring state of the plateau left more than one hundred dead.
According to Solomon Iorpev, “the balance could increase as research and rescue operations continue.”
Divisions in the plateau region
The attacks took place on the night of Thursday to Friday, which led to the deployment of security forces.
Earth’s grip, political and economic tensions between the sedentary and those that are considered foreigners, as well as the influx of Muslim and extremist preachers who blow in the embers, have accentuated divisions in the plateau region in recent decades.
In the center of the country, even in Benue, the land available for agriculture and livestock is reduced regularly due to climate change and human expansion, which leads to sometimes fatal competition for an increasingly limited space.
By pointing out that “the province of Benue is strategic for food security in Nigeria,” Solomon Iorpev has asked the federal government to intervene.
Source: BFM TV
