Over than 37 persons, mostly women and children, were killed in a dawn attack by suspected herders at Kubwat and Fungzai villages of Mangu Local government in Plateau state.
The incident, which occurred around 2 am on Tuesday, left scores of others injured.
Twenty-eight persons were said to have been killed in Kubwat and nine in Fungzai villages.
A community leader in the area, Dan Mangu, who spoke to The Nation, said: “We received a distress call that herders have invaded two villages of Kubwat and Funzai in the attack massacred many people and burnt down their villages.
Plateau Governor Simon Bako Lalong said: ” I woke up Tuesday 16th May 2023 to distressing news of an overnight attack on Kubat Village in Mangu Local Government where some persons including women and children were reportedly killed.”
He directed security agencies to pursue the attackers and arrest them prosecution in a statement by his spokesman Dr. Makut Simon Macham.
Chairman of Mangu Local Government Council Minister Daput imposed a 24-hour curfew in Mangu.
He called on the people of Mangu to remain calm as security agencies have been mobilised to bring the situation under control.