Amnesty International claims that at least 100 people have been killed in a gun attack in a village in north-central Nigeria.
The human rights group’s branch in Nigeria stated that the attack happened between Friday evening and Saturday morning in Yelewata, a community in the Guma area of Benue state.
“Many families were trapped and burned inside their bedrooms,” the group stated in a post. “So many bodies were burnt beyond recognition.”
It also reported that hundreds of people were injured without proper medical care, and many others were missing.
A police spokesperson in Benue confirmed the attack but did not disclose the number of casualties.
Amnesty noted an increase in attacks across Benue state, where gunmen have been killing without consequences.
“The failure of Nigerian authorities to control the violence results in loss of lives and livelihoods, and without immediate action many more lives may be lost,” it stated.
In recent months, similar violence has been reported, including killings by suspected herders in Gwer West and in the neighboring state of Plateau.
Benue is in Nigeria’s ‘middle belt’, a region where the Muslim-majority north meets the predominantly Christian south.
Nigeria’s northern regions frequently experience attacks, often due to disputes over land and water resources between local herders and farmers.
Farmers accuse herders, mostly of Fulani descent, of allowing their livestock to graze on farmland and destroying crops.
Herders claim that these lands are traditional grazing routes, legally recognized since 1965, after Nigeria’s independence.
