ABUJA – Dozens of people were reportedly killed after a truck carrying food items and passengers hit an explosive device in a town in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Borno, security sources said Tuesday.

The incident occurred on Monday when the truck traveling along Gamboru Ngala, a town linking Nigeria with neighboring Cameroon and Chad, hit an improvised explosive device planted along the road, resulting in casualties, including children, a senior security officer, who asked to be anonymous due to not being authorized to speak on the development, told Xinhua over the phone.

“More than 26 people were killed, and at least five were injured. Some of them were seriously burned in the blast,” the security source said, noting that the casualties, mainly passengers, passersby, and residents, were trapped in a fire that erupted following the blast.

Neither the government nor security agencies have commented officially on the incident, but a senior police officer told Xinhua that an investigation is underway.

XINHUA

ABUJA – An overspeeding truck crashed into a crowd of people holding an Easter procession early Monday, killing five and injuring 13 others after a brake failure in Nigeria’s northern state of Gombe, the traffic police said.

Samson Kaura, sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Gombe state, told reporters that the truck, loaded with grains, lost control while overspeeding at Tashan Gona, a town in the Billiri local government area.

After a preliminary investigation, the truck driver was arrested and turned over to the conventional police on charges bordering on “speed violation,” Kaura said.

Deadly road accidents are frequently reported in Nigeria, often caused by overloading, poor road conditions and reckless driving.

XINHUA

ABUJA – The death toll of recent attacks by suspected armed herders in Nigeria’s central state of Benue has risen to 72, local authorities said on Monday.

The deadly attacks happened in communities in the Ukum local government area of the state between Thursday and Friday night.

Local authorities said on Saturday that at least 56 people were killed during the attacks.

More victims were confirmed on Monday, as local security agencies and volunteers continued to comb nearby bushes, Isaac Uzaan, a government spokesman, told the media.

Hyacinth Alia, governor of Benue, has earlier called for urgent action to be taken to halt the horrendous attacks that have continued to plague local communities in the state.

Nigeria has witnessed a series of attacks by armed groups in recent months. There have also been recurring incidents of livestock rustling and armed banditry in the country.

XINHUA

April 19 – Gunmen killed 56 people in central Nigeria, AFP reported on Saturday, citing the governor’s office.

AFP did not provide any further details.

REUTERS

LAGOS – At least 17 people were killed when suspected cattle herders attacked communities in central Nigeria’s Benue State on Thursday, police said, amid a resurgence of deadly clashes between farmers and herders.

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

The latest attacks came two days after 11 people were killed in the Otukpo area of Benue and barely a week after gunmen attacked villages and killed more than 50 people in neighbouring Plateau State.

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 another attack in Logo local council area, about 70 km away, police said.

REUTERS

ABUJA – At least 52 people were killed and others injured during the week by suspected gunmen in central Nigeria, local authorities said Friday.

The attacks since Wednesday night have caused panic across communities in the Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State. The assailants fired indiscriminately at locals and set homes ablaze, Farmasum Fuddang, head of the Bokkos Cultural Development Council Vanguard, told reporters in the state capital of Jos.

Fuddang has been leading other volunteers in combing nearby bushes for bodies. “At least 31 people were given a mass burial on Thursday,” he said.

Also on Thursday, the bodies of five young victims in the village of Hurti were found, Fuddang said, adding that 16 other bodies were found during the search across several villages in the Bokkos area.

The motive for the latest bloodshed is unknown. Bokkos is one of the most frequently attacked areas in Nigeria’s Plateau State, which is in the country’s central belt between the Muslim-dominated north and the Christian-majority south.

In a statement, the Plateau State government condemned the attacks, saying security agencies had already arrested some suspects concerning the “unfortunate development.”

Armed attacks have been a primary security threat in Nigeria’s northern and central regions, leading to deaths and kidnappings in recent months.

XINHUA