Suspected Fulani militants attacked villages in Nigeria’s Miango district in the Plateau state during “unhindered and undistracted” attacks that began Saturday night into Sunday morning, according to a statement released Sunday by the Irigwe Development Association.

According to the statement, the violence resulted in around 100 acres of farmland being destroyed, at least 250 houses burned and mass displacement.

“We are calling on government and security agencies to come to our aid, as our people have been left homeless, their farms destroyed and loved ones killed,” IDA Secretary-General, Comrade Danjuma Dickson Auta, said in an interview with The Daily Post.

Ezekiel Bini, the national president of the Irigwe Development Association, told This Day newspaper that assailants organised themselves into different groups that destroyed crops and looted households before setting properties on fire. 

“Our people are in pains following yesterday’s attack by Fulani gunmen in some of our communities including Zanwrah, Kpachudu and Kpatenvien. What we have is a humanitarian crisis in Irigwe land,” Bini stated.  “So far, we have counted seven people that were killed during the attacks and nine people who sustained gunshot injuries.”

“As we speak, 275 houses were burnt down and over 22,000 people displaced including women, children and the aged,” he added. “Some of the displaced persons are currently taking refuge in neighbouring communities in Miango district, while many others have relocated to Jos for safety.”

However, the state chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Nura Muhammad, which advocates for the Fulani pastoralists, blamed the continued violence in the region on Irigwe youths, adding that six members of the Fulani herding community lost their lives in the violence over the weekend and 11 were hospitalised.

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