Africa-Press – Nigeria. Nearly 40 herdsmen from the Fulani tribe were killed in an attack in Niger State, central-west Nigeria, by local Nigerian militias supported by armed elements from neighboring Benin, according to local sources.
The sources reported that the victims were accused of spying for the armed group “Ansaru.” According to available information, the attack was carried out by militias coordinating with the Nigerian army, accompanied by armed individuals who crossed from Benin, targeting Fulani herdsmen in the area.
The group “Ansaru” is one of the factions that split from Boko Haram, having separated in 2021, and later allied with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, intensifying its cross-border attacks between Nigeria and Benin over the past two years.
Agence France-Presse, citing multiple local testimonies, indicated that a large number of young Fulani men were arrested on suspicion of collaborating with the group, while those who attempted to resist the operation were killed. Ahmad Ali, a local traditional leader, estimated the death toll at 41 individuals. Ali described the attack as a “joint operation” involving local Nigerian militias and others from Benin, supported by Nigerian soldiers.
For his part, Abdullah Nasser, the head of the local government in Borgu, confirmed the presence of Nigerian militias in the area, suggesting the likelihood of elements from Benin due to the proximity to the border. Meanwhile, no official comment has been issued by the Nigerian or Beninese armies.
In another account, a humanitarian source working to support those displaced by violence in the area estimated the death toll at around 38 individuals, accusing “self-defense militias from Nigeria and Benin” of carrying out the attack.
A resident of the Kabi area noted that the operation was part of a “preventive raid,” following threats made by Fulani herdsmen to disrupt agricultural activities, after two of their relatives were recently killed in the neighboring community of Sabaluna, suspected of collaborating with the group “Ansaru.”
