Gunmen kill nearly 50 in north central Nigeria

KANO, Nigeria: Gunmen have attacked a rural village in northern central Nigeria, killing dozens of people, local government officials said on Friday.

The attack happened on Wednesday in Umogidi community in Benue State, where tit-for-tat clashes are common between nomadic herders and settled farmers competing for land and resources.

“The 46 casualties were from the bodies of victims found and retrieved. Many people are still missing, so number of those killed may be higher,” Paul Hemba, security adviser to Benue State governor, told AFP.

He blamed herdsmen who he said had been attacking local communities over the last month. “Soldiers have been dispatched to the area, so the situation is a bit calm now.” The motive for the attack was not clear but Benue has been one of the hardest hit by clashes between farmers and herders who they accuse of destroying farmland with their cattle grazing.