The authorities have blamed suspected armed herdsmen for the violence in two communities in Benue State
At least eight people have been killed and five others injured after gunmen opened fire on residents following a funeral in Nigeria’s Benue State, police and local officials have said.
The violence occurred early on Sunday in Akpachi and Otukpo-Nobi in Otukpo Local Government Area.
Benue State police spokeswoman Udeme Edet said on Monday that the attackers raided the Otukpo-Nobi community at about 6 AM local time on Sunday, where they also set houses and a motorcycle ablaze before fleeing.
“The command received a distress call reporting that armed assailants invaded the community shortly after the successful conclusion of the wake and burial rites of the late Mr. Adaje Okoh,” Edet said in a statement.
Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia blamed suspected armed herdsmen for the attacks, saying they invaded Akpachi between 3 AM and 4 AM while residents were asleep.
He described the attack as an “act of mindless bloodshed” and a direct attempt to sabotage the state’s progress. He ordered security agencies to intensify patrols, pursue the assailants, and deploy additional personnel, adding that the authorities would not allow the communities to become “killing fields.”
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Amnesty International Nigeria reported a higher death toll of at least ten. The rights group said several people remained missing and many others had been seriously injured. Residents and local officials cited by Reuters said at least 18 people were killed in the weekend attacks.
Benue has suffered years of violence linked to disputes between farming and pastoral communities over land and water. About 150 people were killed in an attack on the Yelewata community last year.
Read more Does ‘Christian genocide’ capture the reality of this nation’s security map?The latest violence triggered demonstrations, with the youth carrying the victims’ bodies to the palace of the Idoma people’s traditional ruler to protest repeated attacks and abductions in the area.
The motive remains unclear, but local government chairman Maxwell Ogiri linked the violence to the killing of the head of a herders’ association two weeks earlier, Reuters reported.
Africa’s most populous nation has grappled with a worsening security crisis for more than a decade, with jihadists affiliated with Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province frequently attacking villages, military bases, churches, and schools and carrying out mass kidnappings.
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