Gunmen opened fire on a bar in Jos, Plateau state, sparking chaos that left at least 33 people dead, local sources said.
The attack occurred Sunday evening in Anguwan Rukuba, a neighbourhood popular with university students and staff, before a retaliatory mob emerged.
At least 12 were initially reported killed in the shooting, with later investigations confirming 30 deaths from gunfire and three from mob violence.
Two of the mob victims were burnt beyond recognition, according to local youth leaders describing the brutal aftermath of the attack.
The University of Jos postponed exams scheduled Monday and Tuesday, citing safety concerns and the tensions the attack ignited across the city.
Plateau authorities imposed a curfew from Sunday to Wednesday in Jos North, while promising ongoing investigations into the deadly incidents.
The same evening, gunmen in Kaduna state killed 13 at a pre-wedding bachelor party, highlighting northern Nigeria’s ongoing insecurity from armed criminal gangs.
Plateau state has long suffered clashes between mostly Christian farmers and mostly Fulani Muslim herders over land, sometimes erupting into massacres and displacement.
Experts caution that the violence, while occasionally framed as religious, largely stems from ethnic, economic, and environmental pressures across central Nigeria’s rural regions.
Posts on social media after the Anguwan Rukuba attack blamed Fulani herders or “bandits,” fueling anger, though evidence remains unclear, authorities and researchers warn.
Civil society groups condemned the killings as a grave threat to peace, urging citizens to exercise restraint and prevent further reprisals in Jos.
Researchers link Plateau’s crisis to climate change, population pressure, illegal mining, and political manipulation, creating a volatile mix that repeatedly erupts into violence.
The city of Jos, historically a hotspot of sectarian riots in 2001 and 2008, remains tense, with authorities racing to prevent the simmering anger from boiling over.