Unrest toll 71 as herders, farmers clash

ABUJA: A total of 71 people had been killed in a week of violence in Nigeria’s Benue state, a government spokesperson said yesterday, much of it involving clashes between Muslim cattle herders and Christian farmers.

The killings endanger efforts by President Muhammadu Buhari to bring security and stability to Nigeria – a key campaign pledge when he ran for election in 2015.

Muslim herdsmen, mainly of the Fulani ethnic group, and Christian farmers often clash over the use of land in remote areas of the Middle Belt region.

Terve Akase, the chief press secretary to the governor of Benue state, attributed 71 deaths from December 31 to Saturday to killings by the Fulani. Reuters was unable to verify the figures.

“The attacks happened in very remote villages,” said Akase. “Now, with security operatives on the ground, villagers have been going about the bush to pick up more corpses.”

Nigeria’s police inspector-general, Ibrahim Idris, said last week that the country was secure, alhough more police would be deployed to Benue state to deal with the violence.

“What we should be praying for is for Nigerians to learn to live in peace with each other,” said Idris.

Nigerian troops have been deployed in more than 30 of the 36 states to tackle insecurity.

In November, at least 30 people from a cattle-herding community, including young children, were killed in a clash in the north-eastern state of Adamawa. – Reuters