Late Sunday night, a wave of violence swept through Tse Yange, a Tiv-majority community in Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, as suspected herdsmen launched a brutal attack that left the community shattered.
Among the casualties was the traditional head of the village, who was killed in cold blood during the assault. Several residents were also reportedly abducted in the chaos.
Eyewitnesses recount that the assailants arrived on motorcycles under the cover of darkness and began their rampage, instilling fear among the villagers and leaving behind a trail of destruction. The attackers, believed to be armed herdsmen, descended on the quiet agrarian settlement with lethal force, shooting sporadically and torching homes as families fled for their lives.
A local source who spoke under anonymity described the raid as a coordinated and relentless assault that continued well into the early hours of Monday morning. “It was a night we will never forget,” the source said. “They came with fury and left with our people.”
While efforts are ongoing to determine the full extent of the tragedy, the number of those injured and abducted remains uncertain. Residents who managed to escape the violence have taken refuge in nearby communities, while local authorities and vigilante groups comb through the area in search of the missing.
Security personnel have yet to make any formal statement regarding the incident, though calls for urgent intervention are growing louder from both community leaders and civil society groups in the state.
Tse Yange, like many rural settlements in the region, has long grappled with tensions between herdsmen and farming communities. This latest attack further underscores the fragile state of security in central Nigeria, where communal clashes and targeted assaults have continued to claim lives and destabilize once peaceful areas.
The grief-stricken community now faces the daunting task of rebuilding, both physically and emotionally, even as fears of another attack linger. Local observers are urging the state and federal governments to swiftly intervene and deploy additional security forces to vulnerable communities across Nasarawa to prevent a recurrence of such tragedies.
What you should know
Tse Yange, a Tiv community in Nasarawa State, was attacked late Sunday by suspected herdsmen, leading to the death of the village head and abduction of several residents. The full number of casualties and abductees remains unknown, as local authorities assess the aftermath.
