In Nigeria's Benue state, armed gangs kill 74 in two separate shootings; President Buhari condemns attacks

In Nigeria's Benue state, 74 people have been killed in two separate attacks by gunmen this week. As per Reuters, the clashes happened in an area where violence between pastoralists and farmers is common. The news agency reports that Benue State police spokesperson Catherine Anene said that between Friday evening and Saturday morning, 28 bodies were recovered from a camp for internally displaced people in the Mgban local government area. The motive behind the attack is still unknown.

Citing witnesses Reutersreports thatgunmen arrived and started shooting and killing people.

On Wednesday, in a separate incident in Benue's Umogidi village of Otukpo local government area, suspected herdsmen killed villagers at a funeral. As per Paul Hemba,security adviser to the Benue state governor, 46 bodies were recovered after the attack, however, the number of those killed could be higher.

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Speaking to AFP, Hemba said that "the 46 casualties were from the bodies of victims found and retrieved. Many people are still missing, so the number of those killed may be higher."

Baba Usman Ngelzarma, chairman of the Myetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), a union of Fulani herders, has, however, warned against blaming herders without investigation and has called for an investigation to find the real perpetrators.

"There is a deliberate campaign of demonisation of Fulani herders which started in Benue and spread to other parts of Nigeria," he said adding that they are "not exonerating Fulani herders from involvement in some of the attacks but the way they are always blamed for every attack is unfair and prejudiced."

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement on Saturday, condemned "the recent bout of killings in Benue State in which tens of people were killed in Umogidi community." He also directed the nation's security forces to increase surveillance in affected areas.

In yet another incident on Saturday, in Zamfara State, gunmen abducted at least 80 people. Zamfara is reportedly a hot spot for kidnappings, where armed gangs target remote villages for ransom.

AFP reportsthat the Middle Belt region of Nigeria is a place of turmoil, where the struggles between farmers and herders often overlap over ethnic and religious divisions, making it difficult to control land use.