The fatal clashes between nomads and farmers have recently multiplied in the states of Benue and Plateau.
At least 17 people were said to have been killed as alleged nomadic cattle sets led twin attacks in the state of the center of Nigeria.
Police spokesman, Anene Sewusese, Catherine, said in a statement on Friday that “a large number of alleged militias had invaded” a region of the state of Benue overnight. The attack has occurred in the middle of a resurgence of fatal clashes between its breeders and the farmers, a conflict that has killed hundreds in recent years.
Security forces have been deployed and like the attackers “were pushed back in the early hours of today, they spradically drew from unpaid farmers”, killing five farmers in the Benue Ukum region.
The police said that a second attack took place in the logo, about 70 km from the first incident area.
“Unfortunately, an unsuspected simultaneous attack was carried out” in a neighboring locality, where 12 people were killed before the police arrived, said police spokesperson.
The attacks occurred only two days after 11 people were killed in the Otukpo region in Benue, and barely a week after armed men attacked villages and killed more than 50 people in the neighboring state of the plateau.
Since 2019, clashes between nomadic cattle breeders and agricultural communities have killed more than 500 people in the region and have forced 2.2 million to leave their homes, according to the SBM Intelligence research firm.
The clashes, mainly between the breeders of Muslim Fulani and the Christian farmers of the ethnic groups of Irigwe and Irigwe, are often painted as ethnorelligious.
However, analysts said that climate change and the rarity of pastoral land opposed farmers and breeders against each other, whatever the faith.
The conflict disrupted food supplies from the Nigeria North Center, an important agricultural area.
