Death toll in Nigeria attacks by herders rises to 56

The death toll in attacks by suspected cattle herders on communities in central Nigeria's Benue State has risen to 56, Governor Hyacinth Alia said on Saturday, underscoring a resurgence of such deadly clashes in Africa's most populous nation.

Local media quoted the governor as citing the figure while visiting the villages in Logo and Ukum Local Government Areas (LGAs) that were attacked. Police had earlier put the figure at 17.

Years of clashes have disrupted food supplies from north-central Nigeria, a major agricultural area.

"Early hours of today, we understood that more bodies were being picked up in Logo LGA resulting in 27 corpses," Governor Alia told journalists during the visit, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

More bodies were picked up in some areas in Ukum, bringing the total to 29, he added, noting that more are expected. "So far we are talking about 56 lives lost in just one night. This is quite devastating."

On Tuesday, suspected herders killed 11 people in the Otukpo area of Benue. In the neighbouring Plateau State, gunmen killed more than 50 people on Monday night.

Since 2019, the clashes have claimed more than 500 lives in the region and forced 2.2 million to leave their homes, according to research firm SBM Intelligence.

A separate group of suspected herdsmen shot and killed five farmers around Gbagir in Benue's Ukum Local Government Area early on Friday, police said. The attackers opened fire as police were moving in to confront them, police spokesperson Sewuese Anene said in a statement.

While officers were engaging the attackers at Ukum, another 12 people were killed in an attack in the Logo local council area, about 70 km (43.5 miles) away, police said.