At least 17 people were killed in coordinated overnight attacks in central Nigeria’s Benue State, authorities said Friday, marking the latest violence in a long-running conflict between nomadic herders and farming communities.
Police spokesperson Anene Sewuese Catherine said suspected militia members launched the assaults in the Ukum and Logo areas, about 70 kilometers apart. Security forces repelled the attackers in Ukum, but not before five farmers were shot dead. In Logo, 12 others were killed before police could intervene.
The attacks follow a surge in regional violence, including the killing of 11 people in Benue’s Otukpo area two days earlier and a massacre last week that left over 50 dead in neighboring Plateau State. Since 2019, clashes between herders and farmers have claimed more than 500 lives and displaced 2.2 million people, according to research firm SBM Intelligence.
Roots of the Conflict
While the violence is often framed along ethno-religious lines—pitting predominantly Muslim Fulani herders against Christian Berom and Irigwe farmers—analysts say competition over dwindling land and water resources, exacerbated by climate change, is the primary driver.
The crisis has also disrupted food production in Nigeria’s agricultural heartland, further straining a nation already grappling with economic instability. Authorities have yet to announce new measures to curb the escalating bloodshed.
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