ABUJA, 11 January 2022, (TON): Nigeria said that gunmen killed at least 200 people and displaced thousands more in multiple raids in the northwest over the last week, dealing a heavy blow to authorities struggling to restore order.

Herders and farmers in Africa’s most populous country have clashed over access to land in northwest and central Nigeria for years, but some groups have evolved into criminal gangs known as “bandits” who kill, loot and kidnap.

The minister of humanitarian affairs Sadiya Umar Farouq called the past week’s attacks in Zamfara state “horrific and tragic, giving the first official toll after details began filtering out early.

She said in a statement confirmed by her spokeswoman Nneka Ikem Anibeze “over 200 persons were buried due to the invasion by bandits.”

The minister added “we also worried about the displaced persons who are fleeing in their hundreds from their communities.”

He added that relief material was sent to Zamfara.

The minister said more 10,000 people were displaced when “their homes were razed by the bandits while scores are still missing.”