Africa-Press. Residents and local officials reported that armed individuals killed at least 18 people in an attack in Benue State, northern Nigeria, prompting a protest march by angry residents who blocked roads in response to the violence.
Benue has long experienced recurring clashes between farming communities and herders, as well as attacks by armed groups, in conflicts often fueled by competition over land and resources.
The spokesperson for the Benue police provided a lower death toll for the attack, stating that eight people had died and five others were injured.
The incident occurred in the village of Otukpo-Nobi in the Otukpo area, where residents reported that armed individuals, suspected by locals to be herders from the Fulani tribe, opened fire between approximately 3:30 and 4:30 AM. The local council chairman, Maxwell Ogheri, linked the violence to the killing of the head of the herders’ association two weeks prior.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack immediately. Later, women and youth from the affected village marched through the streets of Otukpo in protest of the incident.
