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Benue, Nigeria – April 20, 2025 — At least 56 people have been confirmed dead following two deadly attacks this week in Benue State, central Nigeria, reportedly carried out by suspected nomadic cattle herders. The revised death toll, released Saturday by the state governor’s office, marks a sharp increase from the initial figure of 17.
Authorities fear the number could climb further as search-and-rescue efforts continue in the affected communities.
According to police spokesperson Anene Sewuese Catherine, the violence began overnight when a “large number of suspected militia” invaded parts of Ukum Local Government Area. As security forces engaged the attackers early Friday morning, five local farmers were shot dead.
In a coordinated assault, a second attack occurred in Logo Local Government Area, approximately 70 kilometers from the initial site. “Unfortunately, an unsuspected simultaneous attack was carried out in a neighbouring locality,” Catherine said, confirming 12 additional deaths before police could intervene.
The twin attacks came just two days after 11 people were killed in the Otukpo area of Benue, and less than a week after gunmen killed more than 50 people in Plateau State, which borders Benue.
The surge in violence is part of a broader conflict between nomadic herders and farming communities that has plagued Nigeria’s Middle Belt region for years. According to SBM Intelligence, clashes since 2019 have claimed over 500 lives and displaced more than 2.2 million people.
Though the conflict is often framed as an ethnoreligious struggle — typically between Muslim Fulani herders and Christian farmers of the Berom and Irigwe ethnic groups — experts say environmental stress and competition over dwindling land and water resources are the root causes.
The violence has also taken a toll on food production in north-central Nigeria, a key agricultural hub, raising fears about long-term food security in the region.
