The explosion occurred while Fulani herders were transporting cattle from Benue state to Nasarawa state.

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(AFP)

(Central News Agency) More than 50 cattlemen and passers-by were killed and several others were injured in a suspected bomb explosion in north-central Nigeria, a government official in Nigeria's Bauchi state and a spokesman for the National Cattlemen's Association said today.

Reuters reported that the incident happened late yesterday between the states of Nasarawa and Benue in north-central Nigeria.

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Authorities in Benue state seized the cattle for violating the "anti-grazing law".

Tasi'u Suleman, spokesman for the Miyetti Allah Dairy Farmers Association (MACBAN) in Nigeria, said the explosion occurred while a group of Fulani herders were transporting cattle from Benue to Nasarawa state. .

"At least about 54 people were killed immediately and countless more were injured," Suliman said.

Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule told reporters that a bomb blast was responsible for the deaths, but did not give a death toll.

Suley did not reveal who might be behind the bombing, but said he was continuing to meet with security officials "to ensure that we continue to reduce tensions that may arise from this accident."

Nigeria's north-central region is known as the "Middle Belt", where violence is frequent due to frequent clashes between Fulani herders and predominantly Christian farmers; these clashes are often portrayed as ethnic-religious.

But experts point out that population growth and climate change have led to an expansion of cultivated areas, leaving less land for nomadic cattle to graze.

Sule's spokesman Abubakar Ladan told Reuters that authorities held a mass funeral for the victims earlier in the day.