Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed on Thursday his “deep concern” about a series of violent acts carried out by looters on villages in central Nigeria, which left about 200 people dead, according to local authorities.
Armed groups, called bandits, launched attacks between Saturday evening and Tuesday morning in Nigeria's Plateau State.
Turk said in a statement: “I am deeply concerned about the series of attacks carried out by armed men on multiple rural communities in Plateau State.”
He added, “I call for this incident to be investigated quickly, comprehensively, and independently, in accordance with international human rights law, and for those responsible to be held accountable in fair trials.”
Northwestern and central Nigeria have been suffering for some time from the terror caused by bandit militias that operate from deep in the forests and raid villages to plunder and kidnap residents for ransom.
Competition over natural resources between nomadic herders and farmers has sparked violence.
Meanwhile, there are activities by terrorist groups in northeastern Nigeria that have killed tens of thousands of people and displaced about two million, while the extremist group Boko Haram is waging battles with rivals linked to the extremist group ISIS.
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