At least 43 people were killed as gunmen raided communities in Gwer West and Apa Local Government Areas of Benue State on Sunday.
A publicly listed contact of the Benue State police command confirmed the attacks to Peoples Gazette on Monday.
“Yes, it is confirmed. But I cannot ascertain the number of casualties at the moment,” said an officer who disclosed he was not authorised to speak on the matter.
In a statement on Monday, Amnesty International lamented the spate of killings in Benue State, saying about 85 people had been killed in just one week.
“On Sunday, gunmen invaded two communities in Gwer West and Apa LGA, killing at least 43 people. Gunmen in a convoy attacked Tse Antswam, near Naka town around 7:00 p.m. At exactly the same time, gunmen invaded Edikwu Ankpali,” Amnesty International said.
It added, “Bloodshed in Benue: 85 killed in a week. In barely a week, at least 85 people have been killed in Benue State. Last week, gunmen killed 42 people during gruesome attacks on villages of Gwer West LGA.”
On May 29, Amnesty International had lamented that bandits and gunmen had raided and killed over 10,000 citizens across Nigeria under President Bola Tinubu’s watch in the past two years.
The human rights organisation ranked Benue and Plateau States as having the highest death tolls as a result of coordinated attacks by bandits and gunmen.