ABUJA, Nigeria — A devastating attack by armed gunmen on Sunday night left at least 40 people dead in the Zike community of north-central Nigeria, in what officials and rights groups say is the latest episode in a cycle of violent clashes over land between Muslim herders and Christian farmers.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed the death toll in a statement issued Monday, calling the attack “heinous” and extending condolences to the victims’ families. Tinubu announced he has instructed Nigeria’s security forces to conduct a thorough investigation and bring those responsible to justice.
“I have instructed security agencies to thoroughly investigate this crisis and identify those responsible for orchestrating these violent acts,” the president said in a late Monday statement.
The attack occurred in the Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, a region long plagued by ethno-religious violence stemming from land disputes between Muslim Fulani herders and predominantly Christian farming communities. Witnesses said the victims, including children and elderly individuals, were caught off guard and unable to escape when the gunmen stormed the community late at night.
“They came at night and started shooting randomly,” said Andy Yakubu, a resident who witnessed the aftermath. “I saw more than 50 bodies. They destroyed and looted homes. We don’t feel safe anymore.” Yakubu added that no arrests have been made.
Rights group Amnesty International condemned the attack, stating that many victims were “taken by surprise and slaughtered in cold blood,” and emphasized that the security presence in the region has failed to prevent or respond to these recurring massacres.
The assault in Zike is part of a growing pattern of attacks in Plateau and neighboring states, where Fulani herders — armed with automatic weapons — have been accused of executing mass killings in a longstanding conflict over access to grazing land and water. The deepening crisis has also exacerbated religious and ethnic tensions, with Christian communities frequently targeted.
Between December 2023 and February 2024 alone, 1,336 people were killed in Plateau State, according to Amnesty International — a statistic that underscores the breakdown of security in the region, despite government pledges and the deployment of additional military units.
Local leaders in the Bassa area expressed frustration over what they see as the government’s failure to curb the violence.
“Since December, at least 75 members of the Irigwe ethnic group have been murdered,” said Samuel Jugo, spokesperson for the Irigwe Development Association. “Sunday night’s killings are provocative, vexing, and completely undeserving of any human community.”
This is not the first time Plateau State has seen such mass killings. In May 2024, armed assailants stormed multiple villages in the region during a similar late-night raid, leaving over 40 people dead. The frequency and brutality of these attacks have left communities traumatized and displaced, as local security forces struggle to respond quickly or prevent future violence.
The ongoing farmer-herder violence is distinct from Nigeria’s better-known security crisis involving Boko Haram, a jihadist group that began its insurgency in 2009. Boko Haram’s primary stronghold is in the country’s northeast, where it continues to fight for the imposition of a radical form of Islamic law. That insurgency has spilled over into Nigeria’s neighbors, but the conflict in Plateau State is rooted in resource competition, ethnic tensions, and decades of unresolved grievances.
As the nation mourns yet another mass killing, civil society organizations and community leaders are calling for a complete overhaul of security operations in central Nigeria — and an end to the impunity with which attackers continue to operate.
The presidency has not yet announced a timeline for the release of investigation findings, and no arrests had been made as of Tuesday morning.
