At least 52 people have been killed and nearly 2,000 displaced following a wave of deadly attacks in Nigeria’s northern Plateau state, officials confirmed on Monday.
The assaults, which took place over several days last week in six villages across Bokkos district, mark the worst outbreak of violence in the area since December 2023, when more than 100 people were killed.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said the full extent of the bloodshed only became clear over the weekend. In addition to the confirmed deaths, at least 22 people were hospitalized with injuries.
“Gunmen carried out brutal assaults resulting in multiple fatalities and widespread destruction,” NEMA said in a statement issued late Sunday. The agency added that over 1,820 people have been forced to flee their homes, and three displacement camps have been set up to provide emergency shelter.
The motive behind the attacks remains unclear. However, Plateau state has long been plagued by violence stemming from tensions between farming communities and nomadic cattle herders.
President Bola Tinubu has ordered security forces to track down the perpetrators, who, according to the presidency, will face “severe punishment.”
Plateau is part of Nigeria’s Middle Belt—a region known for its mix of ethnicities and religions. While clashes are often described as ethno-religious, experts say competition over dwindling resources, intensified by climate change and shrinking grazing land, is a major driver of the violence.
