BENUE KILLINGS: Over 200 Feared Dead as Gunmen Attack Yelwata Community

Over the weekend, the Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State was thrown into mourning following a brutal overnight attack by unknown gunmen. The assault, which took place between Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday, left more than 200 people dead.

Witnesses described scenes of horror as houses were set ablaze, entire families trapped and burned alive, and gunshots rang through the night. The victims were largely women, children, and elderly residents, many of whom had been displaced by previous violence and were seeking refuge in the area.

While the Benue State government has yet to release an official figure, Amnesty International Nigeria confirmed the killings, calling them “a massacre of unimaginable scale.” Social media was flooded with disturbing footage showing charred bodies and destroyed homes, prompting outrage from Nigerians both at home and abroad.

Governor Hyacinth Alia has since dispatched a team to Yelwata to assess the situation and offer support to survivors. In response, President Bola Tinubu reportedly ordered security chiefs to take immediate action to prevent further bloodshed in the region. However, many citizens have expressed frustration, accusing the government of turning a blind eye to repeated attacks on rural communities in the Middle Belt.

International attention was drawn to the tragedy after Pope Leo XIV, during his Sunday Angelus message at the Vatican, condemned the attack and offered prayers for the victims. The Pope stated that around 200 people had been killed, many of them taking shelter at a Catholic mission. He called for security, justice, and peace in Nigeria and urged protection for vulnerable Christian communities.

Online reactions were swift and emotional. On X (formerly Twitter), Nigerians poured out their grief and anger. “This is genocide, and no one is talking,” one user wrote. Another said, “If this happened elsewhere, the world would be on fire. But because it’s Benue, Nigeria, the government remains quiet.”

This weekend’s attack is the latest in a string of violent incidents to hit Benue State. Just last month, 20 people were killed in a similar assault in Gwer West, and over 40 others were murdered in April. These killings, often linked to clashes between herders and farmers, have become alarmingly frequent, with entire villages repeatedly targeted.

For the people of Yelwata, the weekend’s violence is not just a statistic, it is a lived nightmare. Homes have been reduced to ashes, families wiped out, and survivors left with nothing but trauma and grief. Emergency responders are now working to provide relief, but the psychological and social damage will take much longer to heal.

As calls for justice grow louder, many are demanding more than just words, they want firm action. With the eyes of the nation and the world now on Benue, the pressure is mounting for leaders to not only condemn the violence but finally put an end to it.