VOICE AIR MEDIA, News Update

Armed groups have killed at least 145 people in central Nigeria in a series of attacks on villages, local government officials said on Monday, Christmas day.

The toll marked a sharp rise from the initial figure reported by the army on Sunday evening of just 16 dead in a region plagued for several years by religious and ethnic tensions.

“As many as 113 persons have been confirmed killed as Saturday hostilities persisted to early hours of Monday,” Monday Kassah, head of the local government in Bokkos, Plateau State, told AFP.

Armed groups, locally called “bandits”, launched “well-coordinated” attacks in “not fewer than 20 different communities” and torched houses, Kassah said.

“We found more than 300 wounded people” who were transferred to hospitals in Bokkos, Jos and Barkin Ladi, he said.

A provisional toll by the local Red Cross reported 104 deaths in 18 villages in the Bokkos region.

At least 50 people were also reported dead in several villages in the Barkin Ladi area, according to Dickson Chollom, a member of the state parliament.

He condemned the attacks and called on the security forces to act swiftly.

“We will not succumb to the tactics of these merchants of death. We are united in our pursuit of justice and lasting peace,” Chollom said.

The attacks started in the Bokkos area and spilled into neighbouring Barkin Ladi where 30 people were found dead, according to local chairman Danjuma Dakil.

On Sunday, Plateau State governor Caleb Mutfwang condemned the violence, calling it “barbaric, brutal and unjustified”.

“Proactive measures will be taken by the government to curb ongoing attacks against innocent civilians,” said Gyang Bere, the governor’s spokesperson.

Gunfire could still be heard on late Monday afternoon, according to a source from the region, which is on the dividing line between Nigeria’s mostly Muslim north and mainly Christian south.

Markus Amorudu, a resident of Mushu village, said people were sleeping when shots rang out.

“We were scared because we weren’t expecting an attack. People hid, but the assailants captured many of us, some were killed, others wounded,” he told AFP.

Amnesty International criticised the government after the attacks, saying in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that “the Nigerian authorities have been failing to end frequent deadly attacks on rural communities of Plateau State”.

North-west and central Nigeria have been long terrorised by bandit militias operating from bases deep in forests and raiding villages to loot and kidnap residents for ransom.

Competition for natural resources between nomadic herders and farmers, intensified by rapid population growth and climate pressures, has also exacerbated social tensions and sparked violence.

A jihadist conflict has raged in north-eastern Nigeria since 2009, killing tens of thousands of people and displacing around 2 million, as Boko Haram battles for supremacy with rivals linked to the Islamic State group.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former Lagos governor elected in February in a highly contested ballot, has promised to attract more investment to Africa’s largest economy and most populous country to tackle its persistent security challenges.

The spokesperson for Operation Safe Haven, Captain Oya James, also confirmed the incident saying the attack took place on Saturday night while residents of the community were asleep.

“Following the attack, security personnel were deployed to prevent any breakdown of law and order in the area. There was uprising after the incident but the situation has been brought under control,” James had said.

While giving the update on the attack on Monday, he confirmed to journalists that 113 bodies were recovered from the attacks.

He added, “The attacks were well coordinated; not fewer than 20 different communities were attacked by the bandits.

“As I am talking to you, we have recovered 113 dead bodies from those communities. We have recovered more than 300 injured; some were taken to hospitals in Jos and some to a hospital in Barkin Ladi while others have been taken hospitals in Bokkos.

“The security personnel have been doing their best; the difficult terrain reaching those communities made the security not to reach there on time to prevent those attacks.”

The violence has spread to communities in Barikin LGA where houses were burnt.

Kasa said the casualty figure was increasing and that corpses were still being recovered by security agents, vigilantes and hunters combing the forest for missing persons.

The council boss noted that several houses were burnt by the assailants, who also went away with farm produce belonging to the residents.

Meanwhile, Governor Caleb Mutfwang condemned the attack, describing it as barbaric, brutal and uncalled for.

A statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere, on Sunday said the governor directed security agencies to promptly apprehend the perpetrators responsible for the heinous act and ensure they face the full wrath of the law.

Bare said the governor expressed deep concern over the incident, urging communities to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities to security forces for immediate action.

The statement added, “On the importance of collective collaboration among rural communities, the governor assured that proactive measures would be taken by the government to curb the ongoing attacks on innocent citizens.

He sympathised with affected families and urged them to find solace in God as the government diligently works to end the prolonged violence.”