Armed bandits wreck havoc, kill scores of villagers in Nigeria’s Plateau State

Scores of villagers were killed while others were injured in an attack by armed bandits in Plateau State, north-central Nigeria. The attack follows a similar pattern of violence in the region known for repeated clashes between farmers and herders….

It was a sad moment to forget for residents of Plateau State, north-central Nigeria, as armed men launched a violent attack in remote villages, killing at least a dozen villagers during a late-night raid.
 
 
Armed bandits have been blamed for the violent attack that again unsettled many residents. 
 
 
The violent raid follows a similar pattern to yearslong violence in the region blamed on the fight for control over water and land between nomadic herders and rural farmers. 
 
 
More than hundreds have been killed in the region due to the perennial clashes. 
 
 
A local report cited witnesses as saying at least 40 people were killed in Plateau’s Wase district on Monday night.
 
 
The state commissioner for information, Musa Ashoms, told newsmen that the assailants opened gunfire on villagers in Wase’s Zurak community, forcing many to flee into nearby bushes for safety. 
 
 
On his part, Plateau police spokesperson Alfred Alabo confirmed that armed bandits, fleeing an “aggressive onslaught” by security agents, carried out the attacks on the villages late on Monday.
 
 
He added in a statement that seven of the assailants were neutralised by security agents while fleeing gang members killed nine people and burnt down six houses.
 
 
Security agencies have been deployed to the area to secure the lives of the people.
 
 
Nigeria is struggling with security challenges, including a 14-year-long violent insurgency in its northeast, separatist violence in the southeast, and frequent deadly clashes between farmers and herders in the central region.