December 2022 Kagoro killings

Background

Kaduna State, in central Nigeria, has experienced sustained banditry and herder–farmer violence since the early 2010s, much of it concentrated along the Abuja–Kaduna Highway but also affecting more remote villages such as those in the Kagoro chiefdom. In March 2022, alleged Fulani herdsmen carried out a reprisal attack after the death of a Fulani herder, killing over 37 people and destroying a town. Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai subsequently visited the affected village and increased military presence, establishing a protection force known as Operation Safe Haven. Following that attack, the area reportedly saw no further bandit or herder-farmer violence for a period. In the weeks before the December 2022 attacks, residents of Kagoro had observed a buildup of bandit weaponry and personnel, but local military forces did not intervene. On December 15, 2022, three people were killed in a separate bandit attack on Mallagum 1 village.

The Attacks

The first attack began around 11pm on December 19, 2022, in the village of Sokwong, where attackers burned all sixty-two houses in the village, some with occupants inside, stole motorcycles, and shot more than ten civilians as they attempted to flee into the bush. The attackers then moved to the nearby village of Mallagum 1, where approximately 102 houses were burned and more than 28 people were killed.

The chairman of Sokwong village said afterward that nearly every house in the village had been destroyed and that few residents managed to save their belongings. The Southern Kaduna People's Union (SOKAPU) said that after the attacks, villagers returned to search for bodies, many of which remained in the surrounding bush after residents fled. By December 21, 2022, the combined death toll from the two villages had reached 40. A funeral for victims was held on December 22, 2022.

Following the funeral, gunmen returned to Mallagum 1 and, according to witnesses, began shooting sporadically. This second attack occurred between 9 and 10pm on December 25, 2022, coinciding with Christmas celebrations among many Nigerian Christians. At least three additional people were killed in this post-funeral attack.

Aftermath

On January 1, 2023, Ufuwai Bonet, the chief of Kagoro chiefdom, said he was open to dialogue with Fulani herdsmen to prevent further killings. John Joseph Hayab, director of the Global Peace Foundation–Nigeria, echoed these calls for peace and negotiation. Senator Gideon Gwani, who represents Kaura Local Government Area where Kagoro is located, criticized the killings and the military's inaction in preventing them, and noted that most affected villages remained deserted into early January 2023.