According to eyewitness accounts and local media reports, a rural town in the central Nigerian state of Benue has yielded at least 51 villager bodies.
An armed group attacked the community of Umogidi, which led to fatalities.
There are still reports of several missing villagers.
Adakole Inalegu Daniel, a community youth leader, told the BBC that locals, including youth groups, were still searching the nearby bushes for other victims.
According to reports, armed men stormed the neighborhood on Wednesday.
Starting at the local market, they began firing at everybody they came across.
Many of those who fled into the jungle, according to the locals, were shot to death and had their heads mutilated.
Despite the deployment of security troops in the region, the deadly attacks have continued.
Some rural areas in the state of Benue have seen bloody conflicts with herders.
When herders accuse farmers of harming their animals, farmers accuse herders of employing their livestock to destroy their crops.