Gunmen kill 25 in restive central Nigeria state

JOS, Nigeria: Gunmen killed 25 people in two attacks across north-central Nigeria’s Benue state over the weekend, local authorities told AFP Monday, the latest violence in a region known for deadly land disputes and reprisals.

Attackers killed 14 people on Sunday in the community of Ankpali, said Adam Ochega, chairman of the Apa local government council, warning that “there are still some threats here and there”. Muslim ethnic Fulani nomadic herders have long clashed with settled farmers, many of whom are Christian, in Benue over access to land and resources.

In a recent report, Amnesty International tallied 6,896 people killed over the last two years in Benue, part of Nigeria’s so-called Middle Belt, a mixed-religious region where such disputes often take on a sectarian dimension. A police spokeswoman confirmed the attack but did not provide a toll.

Contacted by telephone, resident Ajija Moses said the attackers stormed the community around 6:00 pm, blaming armed Fulani men who were “shooting sporadically”. In a similar attack Sunday evening on Naka village, of Gwer West local government area, 11 people were killed by what authorities said were suspected Fulani militias.