Nigeria: Curfew in Jos area after attack near university

Gunmen attacked a bar in the city overnight, reportedly killing dozens.

The Plateau State government imposed a 48-hour curfew in the area.

It said the perpetrators had not been identified.

The Plateau State government in central Nigeria declared a two-day curfew in the Jos North Local Government Area after an overnight attack in the Angwan Rukuba district of the city.

It said the curfew would remain in force until the end of Tuesday, following what it called a "tragic security incident ...

resulting in the loss of lives, while several others sustained varying degrees of injuries."
"‎The government under the leadership of His Excellency, Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang strongly condemns this barbaric and unprovoked attack on innocent citizens and assures the public that all necessary measures are being taken to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice," the state government said, urging citizens to "remain calm, stay vigilant, and cooperate fully with security agencies."
What else do we know about the attack?

Although local authorities didn't comment on the number of people killed, both the Reuters and AFP news agencies cited separate local youth agency representatives as saying that at least 30 people had been killed.

Residents reported gunmen arriving in the Gari Ya Waye community of the Angwan Rukuba district, which has close ties to the University of Jos, and opening fire indiscriminately.

AFP also reported mob attacks seeking to retaliate in the aftermath.

The University of Jos canceled all examinations for two days in response.

State Governor Caleb Mutfwang said he had visited the area "with a heavy heart" and spoken to the bereaved.

The state government said that investigations were "ongoing" and that the perpetrators had not yet been identified.

Plateau State tensions between Muslim herders and Christian farmers
US President Donald Trump last year re-designated Nigeria "a country of particular concern," alleging that Christians were being targeted and authorities were failing to protect them.

The Nigerian government disputes Trump's version of events in a country whose population is split fairly evenly between its two largest religious groups, Muslims and Christians.

Nevertheless, several group kidnappings and attacks on Christian schools and Church communities drew headlines in the subsequent months.

Parts of Plateau State have long struggled with tensions between predominantly Muslim Fulani herders and mainly Christian farmers, although the extent to which religion drives the conflict — rather than factors like competition for land and access for grazing exacerbated by population growth and climate change — is disputed.

Criminal gangs are also active.

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Separate mass shooting reported at wedding party in Kaduna state
Also on Monday, the AFP news agency reported a mass shooting on the previous night at a pre-wedding party in the northern state of Kaduna, killing at least 13 people.

AFP cited a security report prepared for the United Nations as saying, "Bandits attacked a wedding ceremony in Kahir village ...

killing 13 individuals and injuring multiple wedding guests."
The report also said the attackers kidnapped an unspecified number of people.

Acting police public relations officer Mansur Hassan told AFP that his force was "aware of the attack but we are awaiting details from the divisional police officer in the area."
Like several northern states, Kaduna faces threats both from jihadist terror groups and from gangs of armed criminals locally known as "bandits" who often loot villages and kidnap residents seeking ransom payments.

Nigeria's governments, past and present, and its military has been trying for years to increase its security footprint in the north but it has done little to calm the region.

Last month, the US began deploying 200 troops to the country to provide specialist training and technical support to the country's soldiers fighting jihadist groups.