Nigeria, Nov. 8 -- Two communities in north-central Nigeria erupted in protest on Friday following overnight attacks that left at least six people dead and several others missing in Nasarawa and Benue states.

In Sarkin Noma, a farming settlement in the Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, youths blocked the Lafia-Makurdi highway after suspected armed herders reportedly invaded their community, killing two men and abducting one elderly resident.

In neighbouring Benue State, commercial motorcycle riders-popularly known as okada-shut down the town of Gboko in a similar outcry over the killing of four of their colleagues by gunmen who also stole their motorcycles.

The two incidents indicate deepening frustration in rural and semi...