Over 20 Killed, 400 Homes Burned in Fresh Adamawa Communal Violence

At least 20 people have been killed and more than 400 homes destroyed following coordinated attacks on Kwah and Gyakan communities in Lamurde Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

Residents said suspected ethnic militias launched an early morning assault on Gyakan on Saturday, burning homes and forcing many people to flee. The attackers later moved to Kwah, about 20 kilometres away, where more houses were torched and property looted.

Local sources said the death toll may rise, with more bodies reportedly recovered after security personnel arrived in the area.

Lamurde, one of Adamawa’s most troubled flashpoints, has recorded repeated communal violence in recent months. A dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed in December remains in effect amid ongoing insecurity.

A resident, Onisimus Onisimond, said four additional bodies were recovered by Sunday afternoon, while more victims were still being searched for.

Former Supervisory Councillor of Lamurde LGA, Carlos Nicodemus, described the attack as a large-scale assault carried out by hundreds of armed men who reportedly arrived on motorcycles between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.

According to him, 10 bodies were initially recovered in Gyakan and one in Kwah, before additional recoveries pushed the toll to 20.

He also faulted what he described as a delayed security response, saying troops arrived more than 30 hours after the attacks began.

“The attackers came in large numbers, shooting and burning houses. Over 400 houses have been destroyed,” he said.

Nicodemus added that insecurity in the aftermath of the attack delayed efforts by families to recover and bury the dead.

Former Village Head of Gyakan, Wali Batakuma, also condemned the assault, describing it as coordinated and unusually violent.

He alleged that armed men, believed to be from the Chobo ethnic group, attacked residents, set homes ablaze and assaulted those trying to escape.

Batakuma said the communities were caught off guard and criticised the late intervention by security agencies.

The violence is linked to a long-running communal dispute over land, a conflict that has lasted nearly three decades and reportedly claimed thousands of lives.

Efforts to get reactions from the Chino side of the conflict were unsuccessful.