Death toll hits 160 in Plateau attack

At least 160 people have been confirmed killed in Plateau State, central Nigeria, following a series of attacks on villages, local government officials said on Monday.

The army had on Sunday evening said 16 died in the state that has been struggling with religious and ethnic-related tensions.

“As many as 113 persons have been confirmed killed as Saturday hostilities persisted to early hours of Monday,” Monday Kassah, head of the local government in Bokkos, Plateau State, told AFP.

Military gangs, locally called bandits, were reported to have carried out attacks in “not fewer than 20 different communities” and torched houses, Kassah said. “We found more than 300 wounded people” who were transferred to hospitals in Bokkos, Jos and Barkin Ladi, he said.

On Sunday, Plateau State governor Caleb Mutfwang condemned the violence, calling it “barbaric, brutal and unjustified”. “Proactive measures will be taken by the government to curb ongoing attacks against innocent civilians,” said Gyang Bere, the governor’s spokesperson.

In response to the attack, Amnesty International faulted the government, saying “the Nigerian authorities have been failing to end frequent deadly attacks on rural communities of Plateau state,” in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Clashes between farmers and herders are frequent in the state largely caused by competition for scarce resources, rapid population growth and climate pressures.