POLICE has revealed that gunmen killed at least 23 people in separate attacks in Jos, Plateau State, in the latest bloodshed which involved a battle between herders and local farmers.
Plateau, which is on the dividing line between the country’s largely Muslim north and predominantly Christian south, has experienced an increase in tit-for-tat violence in recent months.
Two cattle herders were killed on Sunday before 21 farmers were slaughtered in subsequent raids in numerous areas, Plateau State police spokesperson Alfred Alabo stated
“The two herders were killed first while the second attacks were launched later in the night,” he added.
“The commissioner of police has visited the scene of the incident. We are investigating the cause of the attack.”
In a statement, Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang said he was saddened by the killings and said the security situation had become “alarming”.
“The security architecture has become like an old abandoned engine that needs to be reserviced and retooled,” he said.
In May, local officials reported that attacks in Plateau’s Mangu area killed more than 100 people and displaced thousands more.
Clashes over land, resources, and water are widespread in numerous parts of Nigeria, notably the central and northern states.
However, violence frequently escalates into attacks and mass kidnappings carried out by heavily armed gangs and vigilante organizations formed to safeguard neighborhoods.
Bello Tafawa, the local chairman of the Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), told newsmen that two herders were shot dead on their way home on Sunday evening in an unprovoked attack.
“We have already reported the case to the security agencies in the area,” he said.
In light of the security challenges in Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who assumed office last month, has urged Nigeria’s armed forces to better communicate in order to combat the country’s numerous security concerns.
Security forces are still fighting to put an end to a 14-year-long jihadist struggle in the northeast, as well as intercommunal violence, major kidnappings for ransom, and separatist unrest in the country’s southeast.
