Gunmen have killed at least 50 people during two attacks on a village in north-central Nigeria, local authorities said Thursday.
Ruben Bako, chairman of the Otukpo local government where the killings happened, said that gunmen killed 47 people on Wednesday in Umogidi village in Benue state. A day earlier, three other people had been slain in the same place, he said.
Anene Sewuese with Benue state police confirmed that attack and said that the assailants had open fire at a market. However, Sewuese put the death toll at eight people, including a police officer.
It was not immediately clear why the village was targeted and no one has claimed responsibility. The region has seen frequent clashes between farmers and nomadic herdsmen in dispute mainly over farmland and grazing areas.
The farmers accuse herders of grazing their livestock on their farms and destroying their crops. The herders insist that the lands are grazing routes encroached by farmers over the years.
Benue state, which is referred to as ”Nigeria’s food basket” because of its bountiful harvests, is one of the hardest hit in the decades-long clashes in Nigeria’s northwest and central regions. The insecurity is further threatening food production in the West African country.
