At least 140 villagers killed by suspected herders in dayslong attacks in north-central Nigeria

At least 140 people were killed by gunmen who attacked remote villages over two days in northcentral Nigerias Plateau state survivors and officials said Tuesday in the latest of such mass killings this year blamed on the West African nations farmerherder crisisThe assailants targeted 17 communities during the ldquosenseless and unprovokedrdquo attacks on Saturday and Sunday during which most houses in the areas were burned down Plateau Gov Caleb Mutfwang said Tuesday in a broadcast on the local Channels TelevisionldquoAs I am talking to you in Mangu local government alone we buried 15 people As of this morning in Bokkos we are counting not less than 100 corpses I am yet to take stock of the deaths in Barkin Ladirdquo Gov Mutfwan said ldquoIt has been a very terrifying Christmas for us here in PlateauAmnesty International Nigerias office told The Associated Press that it has so far confirmed 140 deaths in the Christiandominated Bokkos and BarkinLadi local government areas of Plateau based on data compiled by its workers on the ground and from local officials though locals feared a higher death toll with some people unaccounted forSome of the locals said that it took more than 12 hours before security agencies responded to their call for help a claim the AP couldnt independently verify but which echoes past concerns about slow interventions in Nigerias deadly security crisis which has killed hundreds this year including in PlateauldquoI called security but they never came The ambush started 6 in the evening but security reached our place by 7 in the morningrdquo said Sunday Dawum a youth leader in Bokkos At least 27 people were killed in his village Mbom Mbaru including his brother he saidAlso read At least 20 villagers killed during rebel attackNo group took responsibility for the attacks though the blame fell on herders from the Fulani tribe who have been accused of carrying out such mass killings across the northwest and central regions where the decadeslong conflict over access to land and water has further worsened the sectarian division between Christians and Muslims in Africas most populous nationThe Nigerian army said it has begun ldquoclearance operationsrdquo in search of the suspects with the help of other security agencies although arrests are rare in such attacksldquoWe will not rest until we bring all those culpable for these dastardly acts to bookrdquo said Abdullsalam Abubakar who commands the armys special intervention operation in Plateau and neighbouring statesNigerian President Bola Tinubu who was elected this year after promising to help tackle the security challenges that his predecessor failed to address has yet to make any public comments about the latest attacks days after they happenedTinubus government and others in the past havent taken any ldquotangible actionrdquo to protect lives and ensure justice for victims in the conflicthit northern region Amnesty International Nigeria director Isa Sanusi told the APldquoSometimes they claim to make arrests but there is no proof they have done soThe brazen failure of the authorities to protect the people of Nigeria is gradually becoming the norm he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever