Fresh waves of violence have claimed at least 49 lives in separate attacks over the past few days in Nigeria’s Benue and Plateau states, heightening concerns over the ongoing security crisis in the country’s Middle Belt.

In Benue State, at least 42 people were reportedly killed in a series of coordinated assaults over the weekend in Gwer West Local Government Area. According to the council chairman, Victor Omnin, 32 bodies were recovered from Sunday’s attacks on the Ahume and Aondona communities, while another 10 people were killed on Saturday in the villages of Tyolaha and Tse-Ubiam.

“It’s a pathetic situation. As we speak, we are still recovering corpses,” Omnin told journalists on Tuesday. He also confirmed that a Catholic priest was shot during the attacks and is currently in critical but stable condition.

Benue lies in Nigeria’s volatile Middle Belt, where conflicts between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers are common, often intensified by ethnic and religious tensions. Herders, mostly from the Fulani ethnic group, seek grazing land for their livestock, while farmers—primarily indigenous Christian communities—struggle to protect their farmlands.

Meanwhile, in Plateau State, seven more people were killed on Tuesday night during an attack on Mushere community in Bokkos Local Government Area. The violence reportedly followed Monday’s deadly incident involving a failed kidnapping attempt that resulted in the death of a pastor, as well as a separate attack on a Fulani settlement.

A local youth leader, identified simply as Dafang, said the latest attack occurred as residents gathered to bury victims of the earlier violence. “Just as they were preparing for the burial, the attackers returned and people had to flee for their lives,” he said.

Security forces were said to have been contacted and later mobilized to the area. However, the Plateau State Police Command spokesperson, Alfred Alabo, said he was yet to receive full details of the incident and promised to provide updates, though none had been issued as of press time.

These latest attacks underscore the persistent insecurity plaguing communities in Nigeria’s central region, where cycles of reprisal violence, weak security presence, and deep-rooted grievances continue to fuel bloodshed.