Nigeria: Eight people were murdered in ethnic conflicts between herders and farmers over the weekend in central Nigeria’s Nasarawa state, according to authorities, however locals placed the number at over 20.
Armed Fulani herdsmen attacked communities of the Tiv ethnic group on Friday, continuing through Sunday, after a kinsman was killed, which they blamed on Tiv farmers, according to Ramhan Nansel, the Nasarawa state police spokeswoman.
“We got a complaint about the killing of a Fulani herdsman, but a retaliatory assault was carried out in Hangara village and neighbouring Kwayero village while the investigation was underway,” Nansel added.
“Eight persons were killed in the attacks, and the police recovered their remains and transported them to the hospital,” he said.
According to Nansel, military and police teams were dispatched to the region to restore order and apprehend the criminals.
The death toll, according to Peter Ahemba, the head of the Tiv Development Association, a socio-cultural organisation, is much higher.
“We found more than 20 bodies of our people killed in the attacks in 12 communities spanning Lafia, Obi, and Awe districts, displacing over 5,000 people,” Ahemba added.
Many people, according to Ahemba, are still missing, and it’s unclear if they’re dead or living.
In central Nigeria, deadly conflicts between nomadic cattle herders and local farmers over grazing and water rights are regular.
In recent years, the internecine strife has taken on an ethnic and religious dimension. The Fulani herders are predominantly Muslim, whereas the farmers are mostly Christians.
Droughts, population increase, the development of sedentary farming into communal areas, and bad governance all contributed to the conflict, which dates back over a century.
The situation has been exacerbated by violence perpetrated by criminal gangs of cow thieves among the herders, who invade settlements, killing and destroying homes after plundering them.
