Nigeria: Muslim Fulani Herdsmen Attack Christian Village, Kill Women And Children In Church, Scores Dead

By Ahmed Sakaharuna Umar, Business Week – “JOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nomadic Muslim herdsmen attacked a Christian village in central Nigeria over long-running land disputes, killing at least 30 people in their latest assault, police said Wednesday.

The attack in Benue state comes as a bomb exploded Wednesday in northeast Nigeria, apparently killing a police officer and sparking reprisal attacks by the military in the region, residents said.

In Benue state, the attack Sunday targeted a rural village of Christian Tiv people called Yogbo in the state, police spokesman Daniel Ezeala said. After the attack, those living there fled, community leader Daniel Tsenghul said.

The Tiv are one the largest of the minority ethnic groups in Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people and more than 250 different ethnicities.

The Tiv and the Hausa-Fulani herdsmen have previously fought over land in Benue. In December, authorities said fighting between the two groups displaced some 5,000 people.

Meanwhile, a bomb detonated Wednesday morning in Potiskum, Yobe state, which targeted soldiers in the city trying to fight the radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram. Security forces later cordoned off large portions of the city and began a door-to-door search, state police commissioner Patrick Egbuniwe said. Residents there said they heard gunshots throughout the day as soldiers raided civilian homes. At least four homes were set ablaze by soldiers, the residents said.” Read more.

Scores Feared Dead As Fulanis, Tivs Renew Bloody Attacks – “No fewer than 30 persons were feared killed and property worth several millions of naira destroyed in a renewed hostility by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Yogbo Village in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. Daily Sun gathered that the attackers stormed the village at about 7a.m. on Sunday when most of the villagers were in church and killed mostly women and children. According to eyewitnesses the killers took the villagers unawares and disappeared immediately after the dastardly act.” Read more.