Eleven people are dead and 52 houses destroyed after a reprisal attack in Akyawa and Udege Kasa communities in Nasarawa State on Friday. The violence was carried out by suspected hoodlums believed to be retaliating for the killing of two of their kinsmen. This follows a deadly clash a week earlier in Aso Pada between a vigilante group and suspected Fulani herdsmen, which left at least five people dead and several properties, including vehicles, burnt.
Nasarawa State Commissioner of Police, CP Shetima Mohammed, confirmed the latest fatalities and destruction. He expressed concern over the incident and extended condolences to the families of the deceased. Mohammed ordered an intensive manhunt for the perpetrators, directing tactical and investigative units to identify, arrest, and prosecute those responsible. Security has been heightened in the area through joint deployment of police, military, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel.
The commissioner also held a stakeholders' meeting in the affected communities, urging residents to remain calm and provide credible information to aid investigations.
Eleven lives lost to reprisal violence in Nasarawa shows how quickly local disputes spiral when security responses are reactive, not preventive. CP Shetima Mohammed's promise of arrests and troop deployments may calm nerves today, but offers no long-term solution for communities trapped in cycles of retaliation. With two deadly incidents in one week, the pattern suggests existing security structures are not stopping violence before it starts. For residents of Akyawa and Udege Kasa, peace remains fragile, dependent on promises already made after the last attack.
