Armed men attacked two villages in the north-central state of Plateau on Thursday and killed at least 20 people were killed, while others sustained gunshot wounds.
Plateau police spokesperson Alfred Alabo said the attacks took place in the early hours of Thursday when unidentified gunmen stormed Tagwam Lawuru village, shot and killed 17 people before killing another three in nearby Layowok village.
John Mark Pam, a resident of the community, who lost five relatives, including his brother Dung Mark, his wife, and three children, revealed that the attackers invaded the compound, set the building ablaze, and killed all members of the family in their sleep.
Last month, at least 34 people lost their lives, including seven soldiers, in a brutal assault orchestrated by armed militants in Zamfara, a state in Northwestern Nigeria.
Gangs of heavily armed men have wreaked havoc across Northern Nigeria in the past three years, kidnapping thousands, killing hundreds, and making it unsafe to travel by road or farm in some areas.
