Death toll from attacks in north-central Nigeria rises to 113

KANO, Nigeria

The death toll from weekend attacks by military gangs on communities in north-central Nigeria has risen to 113, a local official said Monday.

The attacks by the gangs, locally known as “bandits,” happened in several communities including the Bokkos and Barkin Ladi local government areas of Plateau state from Saturday into the early hours of Monday, according to Monday Kassah, the head of the local government in Bokkos.

Kassah said the attacks took place when locals were already in a festive mood for Christmas. He told reporters that 113 people were killed in the attacks that happened in around 20 communities in the state.

Local news publication The Daily Trust quoted Captain Oya James, the spokesman for Operation Safe Haven, a joint security task force maintaining law and order in Plateau state, as confirming that 113 bodies had been recovered.

“As I am talking to you, we have recovered 113 bodies from those communities. We have recovered more than 300 injured; some were taken to hospitals in Jos and some to a hospital in Barkin Ladi, while others have been taken to hospitals in Bokkos,” he said.

Clashes are common in Nigeria’s Plateau state between farming communities and herders.

Local officials say that the number of causalities could rise as military personnel, local vigilantes and hunters are going through the bushes in search of missing people who were ambushed during the attacks.