Abuja: An overnight attack in a central Nigerian town killed at least 45 people, a spokesman for the state governor’s office said.
According to Nam News Network, not fewer than 45 people have been confirmed killed by armed bandits in an early Saturday morning attack on Yelwata, a town in Benue State, said spokesman Tersoo Kula. Locals had earlier expressed fear that around 100 people had died in the attack.
Kula stated that government officials and the police commissioner visited Yelwata and confirmed the deaths of 45 people. The region, known as the central belt of Nigeria, often experiences attacks motivated by religious or ethnic differences.
The conflict involves Muslim ethnic Fulani nomadic herders and settled farmers, many of whom are Christian, clashing over access to land and resources. Just two weeks prior, gunmen killed 25 people in two separate attacks in Benue State.