160 people killed in Nigeria: Africa Christmas massacre

Authorities said on Monday that the death toll from the weekend attacks on the largely Christian Plateau communities had risen drastically from the government’s initial count of 16 dead.

The region has been plagued by religious and ethnic tensions for the past few years, with Islam prevalent in the north of the country and Christianity in the south.

“As many as 113 persons have been confirmed killed as Saturday hostilities persisted to early hours of Monday,” Monday Kassah, head of the local government in Bokkos in Plateau State, told AFP.

Mr Kassah said at least 20 different communities were targeted in what he deemed to be “well-co-ordinated” attacks, with militants burning down most houses in the area.

Military gangs, locally called “bandits” are believed to be responsible for the attacks.

More than 300 people have been transferred to hospitals in Bokkos.

The attacks started in the Bokkos region, with a provisional toll by the local Red Cross reporting 104 deaths in 18 villages.

The attacks then spread into the neighbouring Barkin Ladi area, with the “bandits” leaving a trail of bodies behind.

According to local chairman Danjuma Dakil 30 people were found dead in the nearby villages, while Dickson Chollom, a member of the state parliament, says that number is closer to 50.

Mr Chollom condemned the attacks and called on the security forces to act swiftly.

“We will not succumb to the tactics of these merchants of death. We are united in our pursuit of justice and lasting peace,” he said.

Gunfire could still be heard on late Monday afternoon, according to a source from the region, which is on the dividing line between Nigeria’s mostly Muslim north and mainly Christian south.

A resident of one of the attacked villages said people were sleeping when shots rang out.

“We were scared because we weren’t expecting an attack,” Markus Amorudu from the Mushu Village told AFP.

“People hid, but the assailants captured many of us, some were killed, others wounded.”

On Sunday, Plateau State governor Caleb Mutfwang condemned the “senseless and unprovoked” attacks in a broadcast on a local TV channel, calling it “barbaric, brutal and unjustified”.

“As I am talking to you, in Mangu local governorate alone, we buried 15 people. As of this morning, in Bokkos, we are counting not less than 100 corpses,” Mr Mutfwang said.

“I am yet to take stock of (the deaths in) Barkin Ladi.”

“It has been a very terrifying Christmas for us here in Plateau,” he said.

Gyang Bere, the governor’s spokesperson has said: “Proactive measures will be taken by the government to curb ongoing attacks against innocent civilians.”

Amnesty International has criticised the governments response in the wake of the attacks, saying “the Nigerian authorities have been failing to end frequent deadly attacks on rural communities of Plateau state,” in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Northwest and central Nigeria have been long terrorised by bandit militias operating from bases deep in forests and raiding villages to loot and kidnap residents for ransom.

Competition for natural resources between nomadic herders and farmers, intensified by rapid population growth and climate pressures, has also exacerbated social tensions and sparked violence.

A jihadist conflict has raged in northeastern Nigeria since 2009, killing tens of thousands of people and displacing around two million, as Boko Haram battles for supremacy with rivals linked to the Islamic State group.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former Lagos governor elected in February in a highly contested ballot, has promised to attract more investment to Africa’s largest economy and most populous country in a bid to tackle its persistent security challenges.

– with AFP