Gunmen attacked five farming villages Saturday in volatile central Nigeria’s Benue State, killing six people and burning many houses.

Gunmen attacked five farming villages Saturday in volatile central Nigeria's Benue State, killing six people and burning many houses, police said Sunday.

Local media said 36 people were killed in the mayhem.

Police and troops had been deployed to the trouble spot and the situation is now under control as security forces are patrolling the affected villages to ensure there is no resurgence of violence.

Benue state falls in Nigeria's so-called "Middle Belt", where people have witnessed waves of sectarian violence in recent years.

Fighting over grazing rights is common in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country of 160 million people. Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, is made up of some 250 ethnic communities.