AT LEAST 26 people were killed in three separate attacks in northern Nigeria over Easter, the Nigerian military and local officials said at the weekend.

At least 17 died on Saturday when armed men attacked the Mbalom community in the Gwer West area of Benue state in north-central Nigeria.

On Sunday, Benue Governor Hyacinth Alia confirmed the attacks but did not specify a death toll. Residents gave the figure of 17.

Such attacks are part of a long-running cycle of violence in north-central Nigeria, where disputes over land and grazing between mostly Muslim Fulani herders and largely Christian farming communities frequently escalate into deadly clashes. Criminal gangs are also active.

In Borno state in the north-east, an Islamic State-affiliated group attacked a police headquarters, killing four officers after a protracted gunfight, according to Borno police public relations officer Kenneth Daso.

A Easter Sunday church service in the village of Ariko, in Kaduna state, also came under attack, with gunmen killing five people, according to the army.

The identity of the gunmen is unknown. The army said the assailants were forced to abandon the abduction of 31 hostages after troops responded to a distress call.