At least 40 people were killed in an attack by armed assailants on a Christian farming community in Nigeria’s north-central region, President Bola Tinubu confirmed on Monday, April 14. The incident took place on the night of April 13 in Zike, a community in Plateau State, marking another violent episode in Africa’s most populous country.
President Tinubu expressed his condolences to the affected families and directed security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the event.
Amnesty International reported that the victims included children and elderly residents who were caught off guard and unable to flee the attackers. A local resident noted that the gunmen also looted and destroyed homes in the area. The witness observed numerous bodies following the attack, suggesting that the death toll might surpass 50.
The attackers are suspected to be Fulani herders, a predominantly Muslim group previously implicated in mass killings across Nigeria’s northwest and central regions. These violent incidents have become more frequent as herders and farmers vie for limited land and water resources.
Samuel Jugo, spokesperson for the Irigwe Development Association in the Bassa area, stated that at least 75 members of the Irigwe, a Christian ethnic group, have been killed since December 2024. Despite increased security presence in the region, Jugo described the recent attack as “very provocative, vexing and undeserving.”
The ongoing violence has taken on ethnic and religious overtones, with predominantly Muslim Fulani herders clashing with predominantly Christian farming communities. The conflict has intensified due to factors like population growth, climate change, and the erosion of traditional conflict resolution mechanisms.
Amnesty International data shows that 1,336 people were killed in Plateau State between December 2023 and February 2024. This high number indicates that efforts by the Tinubu administration to curb the violence have been largely ineffective.
The conflict in Nigeria’s Middle Belt has been exacerbated by the increasing scarcity of resources. Desertification and shifting rainfall patterns have driven Fulani herders further south in search of grazing land, leading to direct competition with farming communities. Ambiguous land legislation and weak law enforcement have further complicated peaceful resolution efforts.
The Fulani herders, often equipped with advanced weapons, have been accused by some Christian groups of pursuing an agenda of Islamization. However, many security experts stress that the core issues are linked to competition for scarce natural resources.
The Nigerian government has tried various measures to address the conflict, including enacting anti-grazing laws and creating grazing reserves. In 2019, the National Livestock Transformation Plan was introduced to transition the livestock sector from pastoral to stationary ranching. However, implementation has been hindered by distrust between herders and farmers, as well as ongoing security concerns.
The violence in the north-central region is one of the multiple security challenges facing Nigeria. In May 2024, a similar attack on remote villages in Plateau State resulted in at least 40 deaths. This violence over land resources differs from the insurgency led by Boko Haram, the jihadist group that has waged a campaign against Western education and secular governance since 2009.
The farmer-herder conflict has spread beyond Nigeria, affecting other West and Central African countries, including Mali and Burkina Faso. According to research from the Africa Center, over 15,000 deaths have been linked to farmer-herder violence across the region since 2010.
International organizations monitoring the situation have called for comprehensive strategies to address the root causes of the violence. These include investments in land management infrastructure, training local leaders in dispute resolution, and building trust between communities and security forces.
As communities in Plateau State mourn their losses, concerns persist about the potential for further violence in the region. With climate change likely to increase pressure on already scarce resources, addressing the fundamental causes of the conflict is crucial to breaking the cycle of violence that has claimed thousands of lives in recent years.