BAUCHI, Nigeria, March 30 (Reuters) – Gunmen attacked a university community in Nigeria’s central Plateau state on Sunday night, killing at least 30 people, residents and local officials said on Monday, the latest bloodshed in a region scarred by deadly farmer-herder conflicts.
Violence in central Nigeria, known as the Middle Belt, is often painted as ethno-religious between mainly Muslim Fulani herders and Christian farmers. But many experts and politicians say climate change and expanding agriculture stoke competition for land, leading to conflicts regardless of faith or ethnicity.
Markus Audu Kando, a resident and co-chair of Plateau youth interfaith group said by phone: “As I speak with you, the figure is now 30 … There are injured people at the hospital, but I cannot confirm their number.”
Residents said the gunmen arrived in the Gari Ya Waye community of Angwan Rukuba district and shot at people indiscriminately.
The Plateau state government said the gunmen were unknown and imposed a 48-hour curfew in the district. The University of Jos suspended examinations due to start on Monday.
“People were here in the evening and unfortunately, wicked terrorists came and attacked our people. We have counted scores of people who are now dead and then so many others are also in the hospital receiving treatment,” Paul Mancha, a resident and chairperson of the youth council in Plateau, said earlier.
U.S. President Donald Trump last November re-designated Nigeria “a country of particular concern” saying Christians were being targeted and authorities were failing to protect them, which the Nigerian government denies.
