Key facts
- At least 14 villagers were killed and several others injured in an attack in Nigeria's Benue state.
- The attack occurred in Efeyi village in the Otukpo area early Tuesday.
- Otukpo council chairman Maxwell Ogiri blamed Fulani militia for the assault.
- Fulani associations have previously rejected accusations of similar attacks.
- Police have deployed officers to the affected area and an investigation is underway.
At least 14 villagers were killed and several others injured in an attack in Nigeria's Benue state on Tuesday, a local official said, extending a cycle of violence in the country's central belt linked to land and resource disputes.
The latest attack occurred in Efeyi village in Benue state's Otukpo area early on Tuesday, with gunmen killing 14 people and wounding several others, Otukpo council chairman Maxwell Ogiri told Reuters. Ogiri blamed the attack on Fulani militia, saying the assailants struck without warning and that similar incidents had occurred in nearby communities in recent days.
Benue is a hotspot for violence between farmers and herders, with hundreds killed in recent years as farmers attack cattle that destroy crops and herders attacking villages. Fulanis are nomadic herders from the Muslim north of Nigeria, while farmers are mostly from Christian communities. Fulani associations have rejected such accusations of attacks in the past. No group claimed responsibility.