By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria

At least 19 people were killed in a suspected reprisal attack on a village in the central Nigerian Plateau state in the early hours of Friday, according to a local police chief.

The incident came three days after a Fulani boy, who had been declared missing, was found dead in the village of Ancha, police commissioner Peter Ogunyanwo told reporters late Friday.

“We are investigating the matter, but from our findings so far, the attack was carried out by Fulani herdsmen to avenge the killing of a young boy. We have been told that a Fulani boy resident in the village was reported missing on Aug. 3. We are told that his body was later found without the head,” said the police chief.

“Of the 19 people who died, 13 are adults comprising of seven males and six females, while six are children,” he added.

He said five others were injured in the attack.

The violence is the latest in long-running clashes between herdsmen and farmers across Nigeria’s agrarian communities. Herdsmen and local farmers often fight over grazing and farming rights.

In July, 33 people, mostly ethnic Fulani women and children, were killed in violence between herdsmen and farmers in northwestern Nigeria