Survivors Recount Night of Horror as Gunmen Massacre Over 150 in Benue…It was a night of unthinkable terror for the residents of Yelewata in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, as heavily armed gunmen stormed the community in a brutal onslaught that left at least 150 people dead, countless others injured, and hundreds more displaced.
Survivors are now left to piece together what remains of their shattered lives, grappling with trauma, loss, and a future clouded by uncertainty.
According to eyewitnesses, the attack began late on the night of June 13, 2025. Villagers, many already asleep, were jolted awake by the sound of gunfire and screaming.
What followed was hours of indiscriminate violence, as the attackers—suspected to be armed herdsmen—shot at anything that moved and set homes ablaze.
Entire families were wiped out in moments, while others fled into the bush under the cover of darkness.
Fidelis Adidi, a farmer and resident of the village, is one of the many who barely escaped with their lives.
He recounted how his compound came under siege just after midnight. “They came shooting and burning.
I ran into the bush, but my wife and four of our children were trapped inside,” he said, his voice breaking. “I came back in the morning and found them burned in the house.
My second wife and our baby were also shot, but they are alive. They’re in the hospital now.”
The horror extended beyond human casualties. A local market, the economic lifeline of the community, was razed.
Bags of rice, yams, and maize—crops harvested over the past year—were consumed by fire. “They took everything from us,” said Talatu Agauta, a pregnant trader who lost both her wares and her home.
“This is not just an attack on people, it’s an attack on our survival.”
Titus Tsegba, another farmer, lost his wife and four children in the attack.
“There is nothing left for me,” he said simply, standing near the charred remains of his family’s home.
“They didn’t just kill my family—they destroyed my life.”
The attack is the latest in a series of violent clashes that have plagued Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, where longstanding disputes between farming communities and herders over land use and grazing rights have repeatedly escalated into bloodshed.
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For years, communities like Yelewata have cried out for help, pleading for security and government intervention.
But to many, these pleas have gone unanswered.
President Bola Tinubu has condemned the massacre, calling it “senseless bloodletting” and promising swift action.
He has directed security agencies to investigate the killings and restore order in the region. “These killings are unacceptable.
Every Nigerian has the right to live in peace,” he said during a press briefing. Plans for a presidential visit to the affected area were also announced.
Despite the president’s assurances, those on the ground remain skeptical.
With more than 3,000 people displaced, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and humanitarian organizations are struggling to provide shelter, food, and medical aid to the survivors.
Temporary camps are being set up, but the needs far exceed available resources.
Many survivors, now living under tarpaulins or makeshift shelters, are haunted not just by the violence, but by the uncertainty of what comes next.
“Where do we go from here?” asked Fidelis Adidi. “We can’t go back. There is nothing to go back to.”
As the sun sets on the scorched remains of Yelewata, the scars left behind are more than physical.
The trauma of the attack, the pain of loss, and the fear of another raid loom heavily. For the people of Benue, justice and peace remain distant dreams, obscured by smoke, sorrow, and silence.
