At least 40 individuals lost their lives following an assault by armed attackers on a Christian farming community in Nigeria’s north-central region, as reported by President Bola Tinubu on Monday, April 14.

The attack took place late Sunday night, April 13, in Plateau State’s Zike community, marking the latest in a series of violent occurrences affecting Africa’s most populous country.

In a formal statement, Tinubu expressed his condolences to the victims and their families and instructed security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.

Amnesty International disclosed that the victims included children and elderly residents who were caught off guard and unable to flee the attackers. A local resident reported that the attackers also damaged and looted homes. The eyewitness noted seeing bodies after the attack and suggested the number of fatalities could surpass 50.

The attackers are suspected to be herders from the Fulani, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group linked to mass killings in Nigeria’s northwest and central regions. Such attacks have become more frequent as herders and farmers vie for access to limited land and water resources.

Samuel Jugo, spokesperson for the Irigwe Development Association in the Bassa area, stated that at least 75 people from the Irigwe, a Christian ethnic group, have been killed since December 2024. Despite the deployment of additional security forces, Jugo described the recent attack as “very provocative, vexing and undeserving.”

The ongoing violence has both ethnic and religious aspects, with predominantly Muslim Fulani herders clashing with predominantly Christian farming communities. The conflict has intensified over the years due to factors like population pressure, climate change, and the erosion of traditional conflict resolution methods.

Data from Amnesty International highlights the severity of the violence in Plateau State, with 1,336 people killed between December 2023 and February 2024. This high death toll indicates that measures introduced by the Tinubu administration to mitigate the violence have not been effective.

The conflict in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region has been exacerbated by increasing resource scarcity. Desertification and altered rainfall patterns have driven Fulani herders further south in search of grazing land, leading to confrontations with farming communities. Ambiguous land legislation and weak rule of law have further complicated peaceful resolution efforts.

Some experts view the violence as primarily resource-driven, while others note its religious undertones. Fulani herders, often armed with advanced weapons, have been accused by some Christian groups of pursuing an Islamization agenda. However, many security analysts stress that competition for increasingly scarce natural resources is at the core of the conflict.

The Nigerian government has undertaken various measures to address the conflict, such as enacting anti-grazing laws and establishing grazing reserves. In 2019, the government launched the National Livestock Transformation Plan, which seeks to shift Nigeria’s livestock sector from a pastoral to a stationary ranching system. However, implementation has been hindered by distrust between herders and farmers and ongoing security challenges.

The violence in the north-central region is just one of several security issues facing Nigeria. In May 2024, a similar attack in remote Plateau State villages resulted in at least 40 deaths. The violence over land resources is separate from the insurgency by Boko Haram, the Nigerian jihadist group opposed to Western education and secular governance since 2009.

The conflict between herders and farmers has spread beyond Nigeria, affecting other West and Central African countries, including Mali and Burkina Faso. Research from the Africa Center indicates that over 15,000 deaths have been attributed to farmer-herder violence across the region since 2010.

International organizations monitoring the situation have called for more comprehensive strategies to address the underlying causes of the violence. Recommendations include investing in land management infrastructure, training local leaders in dispute resolution, and building trust between communities and security forces.

As communities in Plateau State mourn their losses, concerns persist about the potential for further violence in the region. With climate change expected to further strain already limited resources, addressing the root causes of the conflict will be essential to breaking the cycle of violence that has claimed thousands of lives in recent years.