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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Conflict & Security

Nigeria: Dozens killed in Plateau State attack

From Tempo · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • At least 25 people were killed by armed assailants in Bin-Per village, Plateau state, Nigeria.
  • The attack, which targeted residents in their homes with machetes, primarily affected women and children.
  • The incident is part of a cycle of violence between Fulani herders and farming communities over resources, with local groups criticizing authorities' security response.

Armed assailants murdered at least 25 people in Bin-Per village, Plateau state, Nigeria, on Monday night. The attackers reportedly moved from house to house, killing residents with machetes. Women and children constituted the majority of the victims.

survived by a whisker. But my neighbors were attacked. Two people killed in their house.

— Muftwan YamputA resident describing the attack in Bin-Per village.

One resident described surviving "by a whisker" while neighbors were attacked, with two people killed in their home. This massacre follows the killing of two herders last week, which in turn led to a suspected reprisal attack on the nearby village of Maitimbe, where multiple houses were set ablaze.

The recurring destruction of communities, killing of innocent citizens, burning of homes and destruction of farmlands cannot continue to be treated as ordinary incidents.

— Mwaghavul Youth Movement spokespersonCriticizing the authorities' response to the violence.

The Mwaghavul Youth Movement, a local advocacy group, accused authorities of failing to protect vulnerable communities. The group's spokesperson stated that the "recurring destruction of communities, killing of innocent citizens, burning of homes and destruction of farmlands cannot continue to be treated as ordinary incidents." Matthew Kwarpo, a Plateau state assembly representative, urged authorities to deploy proactive security measures.

deploy proactive measures in preventing or mitigating unnecessary attacks before they occur.

— Matthew KwarpoA representative in the Plateau state assembly calling for better security.

These recent events are part of years of escalating violence between nomadic Muslim Fulani herders and predominantly Christian farmers in Nigeria's Middle Belt region. Disputes over access to scarce land and resources, compounded by land grabbing for mining, political and economic tensions, and the influence of hardline preachers, have fueled divisions. Rights group Amnesty International estimated that at least 2,630 people had been killed in Plateau state alone in the two years prior to May 2025, criticizing the government's failure to protect citizens.

The incident underscores the urgent need for concerted efforts to address the underlying grievances and prevent further escalation of violence in the affected communities.

— Matthew KwarpoHighlighting the need for broader solutions to the conflict.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Tempo in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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