2022 Plateau State massacres

Last updated

2022 Plateau State massacres
Part of the Nigerian bandit conflict
Nigeria - Plateau.svg
Location Kanam and Wase, Plateau State, Nigeria
Coordinates 9°18′N10°00′E / 9.3°N 10°E / 9.3; 10
DateApril 10, 2022 (2022-04-10)
Attack type
 Mass shooting, mass kidnapping, arson
Weapons Assault rifles, machine guns
Deaths150+
Perpetrators Fulani bandits from Kaduna State
Motive Herder–farmer conflict

On 10 April 2022, a gang of bandits killed more than 150 people in a series of attacks in Plateau State, Nigeria. The attacks are linked to the ongoing Nigerian bandit conflict. About 70 people were also kidnapped in the attacks. [1]

Contents

Background

Nigerian bandits in 2021, with typical dress and weaponry Nigerianbandits2.png
Nigerian bandits in 2021, with typical dress and weaponry

Nigeria is badly affected by several low-intensity conflicts. These include the Boko Haram insurgency, which began in 2009, and the Nigerian bandit conflict, which began in 2011. [2]

In the early 2020s, bandit attacks increased. The week before the attack, bandits carried out a major attack on a military base in Kaduna State, killing 15 soldiers. [3] An attack on a harvest festival that week killed 17. [4] A few weeks before, an attack on a train heading to Kaduna killed upwards of 60 passengers. [5]

The day of the attack, bandits killed 15 people in an unrelated incident. The massacre happened in a village in Chikun, Kaduna State. Local community leader Isiaku Madaki, who had been installed less than a day before, was among the dead. [6]

Attack

On the afternoon of 10 April 2022, a bandit gang, believed to be Fulani herdsmen, [7] attacked nine villages in Plateau State. [8] [3] All the villages were in the Kanam and Wase local government areas. [9] Gunmen killed at least 50 people and kidnapped about 70 others. [8] [3] They also torched and looted houses during the rampage. [8] [3] [1]

Victims who died in the attacks were buried in mass graves in Kanam. [9]

While Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari vowed that there will be "no mercy" for the perpetrators of these attacks, leaders of the local communities called for his resignation for his failure to maintain order and security. [1]

Casualties

Initial reports and authorities said that at least 50 had been killed. Witnesses told the Associated Press that the death toll was more than 100, with others placing the estimate as high as at least 130. [7] On 11 April, Voice of America stated at least 70 had been slain. [4] Vanguard reported at least 78 people had been killed in Kanam and 15 others in Chikun during the attacks. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaduna State</span> State of Nigeria

Kaduna State is a state in the northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in the country as at 2006. Created in 1967 as North-Central State, which also encompassed the modern Katsina State, Kaduna State achieved its current borders in 1987. Kaduna State is the fourth largest and third most populous state in the country, Kaduna State is nicknamed the Centre of Learning, owing to the presence of numerous educational institutions of importance within the state such as Ahmadu Bello University.

Timeline of the Boko Haram insurgency is the chronology of the Boko Haram insurgency, an ongoing armed conflict between Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram and the Nigerian government. Boko Haram have carried out many attacks against the military, police and civilians since 2009, mostly in Nigeria. The low-intensity conflict is centred on Borno State. It peaked in the mid 2010s, when Boko Haram extended their insurgency into Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

The following lists events from 2014 in Nigeria.

Herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria are a series of disputes over arable land resources across Nigeria between the mostly-Muslim Fulani herders and the mostly-Christian non-Fulani farmers. The conflicts have been especially prominent in the Middle Belt since the return of democracy in 1999. More recently, they have deteriorated into attacks on farmers by Fulani herdsmen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kidnapping in Nigeria</span> National organized crime challenge

Kidnapping is a major problem in Nigeria in the early 21st century. Kidnapping by bandits and insurgents is among the biggest organised or gang crime in Nigeria and is a national security challenge.

The following is a list of events in 2021 in Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afaka kidnapping</span> 2021 kidnapping event in northern Nigeria

The Afaka kidnapping took place on 11 March 2021, when armed Gunmen attacked Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Igabi LGA, in Kaduna State and kidnapped 39 students just weeks after a similar attack in Jangebe, Zamfara State. The abducted comprised 23 females along with 16 males and was carried out late at night. It is the third incident of mass kidnapping from a school in northern Nigeria in the year 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenfield University kidnapping</span> 2021 kidnapping of Greenfield University students in Kaduna State, Nigeria

The Greenfield University kidnapping took place on 20 April 2021, when at least 20 students and 2 staff were kidnapped in Kasarami village, Chikun LGA, Kaduna State, Nigeria, during an attack by suspected armed bandits at Greenfield University. The remaining 14 students were released on 29 May 2021 after one month in captivity. This is Nigeria's fourth kidnapping from an academic institution in 2021, and the fifth since December 2020, coming five weeks and six days after the Afaka kidnapping, in which 39 students were abducted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigerian bandit conflict</span> Conflict between gangs and the Nigerian government

The bandit conflict in northwest Nigeria is an ongoing conflict between the country's federal government and various gangs and ethnic militias. Starting in 2011, the insecurity remaining from the conflict between the Fulani and Hausa ethnic groups quickly allowed other criminal and jihadist elements to form in the region.

Events in the year 2022 in Nigeria.

From 4 to 6 January 2022, over 200 people were killed by bandits in Zamfara State, Nigeria. This was the deadliest terrorist attack in recent Nigerian history.

In mid-January 2022, a bandit gang killed over 50 people in Dankade, Kebbi State, Nigeria.

On 8 March 2022, bandit gangs carried out two mass shootings in Kebbi State, northwest Nigeria, killing over 80 people.

On 28 March 2022, an Abuja–Kaduna train was attacked in Katari, Kaduna State, Nigeria. In response, the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) briefly halted operations along the route.

On 5 June 2022, a mass shooting and bomb attack occurred at a Catholic church in the city of Owo in Ondo State, Nigeria. At least 40 people were killed, with the highest estimates being around 80. Some in the federal government of Nigeria suspect the Islamic State – West Africa Province of carrying out the massacre.

Events in the year 2023 in Nigeria.

On June 30, 2022, gunmen ambushed Nigerian soldiers responding to a distress call of an attack on a mining village. Forty-eight people died, including thirty-four soldiers, eight policemen, and six civilians. The attack is one of the deadliest ambushes in Nigeria in recent years.

Between December 19 and 25, 2022, several villages in Kagoro, Kaduna State, Nigeria were attacked by unknown groups, who killed over 46 people in two attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Plateau State massacres</span> Mass murders in Nigeria, 23–25 December 2023

A series of armed attacks occurred between 23 and 25 December 2023 in Plateau State in central Nigeria. They affected at least 17 rural communities in the Nigerian local government areas of Bokkos and Barkin Ladi, resulting in at least 200 deaths and injuries to more than 500 people as well as significant property damage. Although no group claimed responsibility for the attacks, they are believed to have been committed by Fulani militias.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Carter, Sarah. "Nigeria leader vows "no mercy" for gunmen behind massacre that left more than 150 dead in country's north". CBS .
  2. ↑ "Peace talks bring fragile truce in Nigeria 'bandit' conflict". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dzirutwe, MacDonald (11 April 2022). "Gunmen attack kills at least 50 in Nigeria's Plateau state". Reuters . Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  4. 1 2 Obiezu, Timothy. "Police Deploy to Villages in Nigeria's Plateau State After Attacks Kill 70". Voice of America . Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  5. ↑ Abe, Bankole (29 March 2022). "Train attack: Number of persons feared dead rises as Tinubu says 60 were killed". International Centre for Investigative Reporting. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  6. 1 2 Nanlong, Marie-Therese; Hassan-Wuyo, Ibrahim; Abubakar, Shina (12 April 2022). "94 killed by terrorists, assassins in Plateau, Kaduna, Osun within 24 hrs". Vanguard News . Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  7. 1 2 Asadu, Chinedu (12 April 2022). "Gunmen kill more than 100 in Nigeria's north, say survivors". Associated Press . Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 "Nigeria: Gunmen attack kills at least 50 in Plateau state". Al Jazeera . 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Victims Of Plateau Attacks Buried In Mass Grave". Channels Television . 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.