At least 19 people were killed by unidentified gunmen in a night-time raid on a rural community in central Nigeria on Friday, according to police.

The attackers torched houses and other buildings of the Tawari community in Kogi state, 100km (60 miles) south of the capital Abuja.

“They burned some houses, a school, a church and the palace of the local ruler,” William Aya, a regional police spokesman, told AFP news agency. “Nineteen people were killed.”

A local security source told AFP that the killings were suspected to be a reprisal attack linked to clashes with a rival community in the area, but there was no official confirmation.

Aya said the motive for the attack and the identity of the assailants remained unclear.

“We have commenced the investigation and it will reveal what happened,” he said.