The Nasarawa State police command on Wednesday confirmed the killing of 27 herdsmen in a bomb explosion at a border community with Benue State.
The spokesman for the state police command, Ramhan Nansel, who confirmed the incident to journalists in Lafia, said the incident occurred in the Rukubi community of the Doma local government area of the state on Tuesday.
He said security agencies are working round the clock to arrest those behind the act.
However, the cause of the blast has not been ascertained.
A report emerged earlier on Wednesday that the Nigerian Air Force mistakenly dropped the bomb while conducting routine aerial operations along the Nasarawa-Benue border.
There were also insinuations that the explosion was caused by the activities of terrorists in the area.
Nansel said: “It is unfortunate that such a thing happened. Twenty-seven of the herdsmen were killed after a bomb exploded in Doma LGA.
“The police and other security agencies are working round the clock to understand what led to the attack and track down those involved in the act.”
However, the state governor, Abdullahi Sule, has appealed to herdsmen in the state to remain calm and vowed to bring perpetrators of the attack to book.
He said: “On behalf of the state government, I want to sympathise with the Fulani people across the state over the killings of their people by an unknown bomber.
“I want to assure them of the state government’s commitment to unravel the perpetrators of such act so as to face the full wrath of the law.”
