In Nigeria’s Benue State, two farmers were killed on Saturday in a fresh attack reportedly carried out by armed herders, deepening tensions in the country’s North Central region.

The incident adds to a surge in violence across the Middle Belt, an area long plagued by land and resource disputes between farmers and herders.

Security experts warn that the escalating conflict risks spilling beyond Nigeria’s borders, threatening stability across West Africa, where porous frontiers make cross-border attacks and arms movement easier.

Authorities have pledged to step up security patrols, but local residents remain fearful, as attacks persist despite repeated government assurances of peace and protection.