AFP, Kano

A state-backed Nigerian militia, operating alongside the military, killed scores of ethnic Fulani herders in a raid, local sources have told AFP.

The herders were killed in an operation that also involved vigilantes from Benin, just across the border from Niger state, after the herders were accused of being informants for the jihadist group Ansaru, the sources said.

The Nigerian vigilantes from Bussa district raided herding Fulani settlements around Kabe, in neighbouring Borgu, in a massacre that also saw sweeping mass arrests, the sources said.

On Thursday, security personnel went door-to-door in Fulani herding settlements, arresting young men suspected of being informants for the al-Qaeda-linked Ansaru group, shooting those who resisted, the sources said.

“Security personnel killed 41 suspected Ansaru informants in the raids in which many others were arrested,” said Ahmad Ali, a community leader from the nearby village of Konkoso.

“It was a joint operation between community vigilantes and those from neighbouring Benin, with the help of Nigerian soldiers,” Ali added.

A Nigerian military spokesman declined to comment and said he would seek more details of the alleged incident.