At least 25 killed in brutal overnight attack in Nigeria’s Plateau

At least 25 people have been killed in an overnight attack on a village in Nigeria’s central Plateau State, local officials and residents said, raising fears of further retaliatory violence in the restive region, Reuters reports.

The attack underscores persistent insecurity in Plateau, where longstanding tensions between farming communities and herders over land, grazing rights, and resources have frequently escalated into cycles of reprisal violence, leaving communities devastated and residents displaced.

Lemun Le’an Iliya, a councillor representing the area, said 23 people were killed in the attack, while another victim later died in hospital.

Resident Amos John said an additional victim had died, bringing the reported death toll to at least 25. He said the attackers went from house to house, killing residents with machetes, with women and children accounting for most of the victims.

Plateau police spokesperson Alfred Alabo told Reuters that officers were being deployed to the area and that police would issue a statement after assessing the situation.

The Mwaghavul Youth Movement, a local community group, accused authorities of failing to adequately protect vulnerable communities and called for a review of security measures in the area.

“The recurring destruction of communities, killing of innocent citizens, burning of homes and destruction of farmlands cannot continue to be treated as ordinary incidents,” spokesperson Tubwot Joël Sunday said.

Plateau State, located in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, has long faced violence linked to disputes over land, grazing rights, and access to resources, often compounded by ethnic and religious tensions.

By Vafa Guliyeva