EXCLUSIVE: Untold story of how herdsmen reduced Benue community to ashes, burnt over 300 alive

The people of Yelewata, a quiet farming settlement tucked along the tail end of Benue State on the Abuja-Makurdi highway, will forever remember June 13-14, 2025, not as just another date on the calendar, but as the darkest chapter in their history.

On that harrowing Friday night/Saturday morning, residents of the town woke to the deafening crackle of gunfire, the glow of burning homes/stores and the horrifying cries of children being hacked, shot or burnt alive by suspected armed herdsmen.

By the break of dawn on Saturday, May 14, over 300 lives had been cut short, hundreds of homes reduced to ashes and the town’s once-thriving heartbeat silenced by grief.

More than 300 lives were lost that night, in what survivors and residents now describe as the single deadliest massacre in Benue’s recent history.

And for a community known for nothing but quiet labour on their ancestral farmlands, this carnage was not just shocking, it was soul-shattering.

“It was like a war. In my 57 years on earth, I’ve never witnessed this. I escaped with my third son. My wife and other children were not so lucky. My world ended that Friday night,” said Elder Amos, his voice trembling as he spoke with our correspondent.

The attack, which many survivors believed was a planned and coordinated onslaught, came amid rising tension between local Benue farmers and herders operating within the region.

Just weeks earlier, traditional rulers across Tiv and Idoma lands had issued a directive asking all herders to vacate their lands by the end of May due to recurring violence and destruction of farmlands.

That ultimatum was never enforced and the consequences became painfully clear in Yelewata.

Before the Yelewata incident, there were similar attacks on other communities like Edikwu-Ankpali in Apa as well as the Tyoshin community in Naka, Gwer East LGA, where scores of persons were hacked to death.

The figures are not just numbers; each name carries a story, a family, a legacy cut short.

Prominent among the victims of the Yelewata attack was Pharmacist Matthew Iormba, a brilliant young man who had once dreamt of becoming a medical doctor.

Denied admission to study medicine twice despite his academic excellence, he settled for Pharmacy and graduated with distinction.

He had just returned home the previous night to his family to inform them that he had graduated after his housemanship in Kano, only to be burnt alive during the attack.

Then there was Tsegba Lucy, a young girl whose house was set ablaze by the assailants. She lost her mother and five siblings.

Struggling to find the words, she mourned, “My beloved mum and beautiful sisters. Go well till we meet again. I love you, but God loves you more. I can’t stop crying. Kai, God, you do me strong thing.”

Another survivor, a local footballer who gave his name as Agande, had travelled to Makurdi for a match. By the time he returned, both his parents, 10 family members had been burnt beyond recognition.

“They gave me everything. And now they’re gone, killed by people they never offended,” he lamented while speaking with our reporter.

Homes were razed to the ground. Farm produce was burnt to ashes. Family photographs, children’s school books, cooking pots, all turned to soot.

Even now, days after the attack, charred remains of bodies lie unburied. Smoke still rises from crumbled rooftops.

If there is anyone who is yet to recover from the shock of the deadly attack, it is Franc Utoo, a lawyer-cum-politician and native of Yelewata, who lost over 33 members of his extended family and more than 50 of his political supporters.

Speaking with DAILY POST, Utoo gave a chilling and shocking account of what really happened.

According to him, residents of the community were already aware of the planned attack and decided to relocate from their homes at night to camp at various places such as schools, market square and churches within Yelewata town.

According to him, “This thing is straightforward. Those guys have started plotting the attack before that day.

“We were aware of the plot that they might invade our town from Obi, Doma or Keana LGAs in Nasarawa State through Giza or Kadarko. So we got intelligence about what was going to happen.

“We were able to tell the law enforcement agents. But of course, nothing happened. So when they came that day, they came at night around 10pm. That’s on June 13.

“It was raining that day. So they were targeting the RCM Primary School Yelewata, because the school housed about a thousand of our people.

“You know why the number is high? Every evening, the people leave their homes to come and sleep in the primary school and the church.

“And then others from the neighboring villages, adjoining villages, come to sleep in the stores and in the market.

“That’s why, if you see the visuals of the burnt stores, you see a lot of skulls. Because some people may be wondering why a lot of people were in a store?

“That is because people leave their homes in the evening for fear of this attack. To sleep in the store so they can go back in the morning.

“Nobody is safe in that town. That is why if your house is just 20 or 30 meters away from the road, you dare not sleep in the house. Not to talk of those who are like 500 meters or one kilometer away from the road.

“So, when those guys came that day, they concentrated on areas where the population was high, that is, the primary school, the church and the market.

“But at that point, they were repelled by our boys and the security agents. So in the course of this, we didn’t know that these guys had divided themselves into groups.

“They diverted our attention to the primary school and the church. The other groups went to the Yelewata New Market.”

The figures, the lies and the fury

Official accounts of the tragedy have added insult to the community’s wounds. While Governor Hyacinth Alia announced, following a panel report, that only 59 people died, local sources rejected this.

Many said his narrative is false and dangerous, accusing the state government of deliberately underreporting the attack.

“We lost over 300 people. Children were burnt to ashes. In some places, entire families were wiped out.

“If anyone tells you it’s 59, they’re lying. A family here lost over 40 members alone,” Samson, a youth leader in Daudu said.

“That’s where we recorded the majority of casualties. In my family alone, they killed over 33 people.

“So different families, this family with about 20-something, that family with 30, so right now, even the government is underreporting the number grossly.

“I have names of about, at the last count, about 132 or so that were killed.

“That is the ones we know. The ones we don’t know are also equal to that number. This is because a lot of people come from about 10 other villages to sleep in those stores. Others came as permanent IDPs and others as temporary IDPs,” he added.

In a statement, President Bola Tinubu through his media adviser, Bayo Onanuga, described the killings as “reprisal attacks”, a comment that shocked many, including residents and activists.

Governor Alia, speaking to Channels Television, echoed the President’s sentiments.

He acknowledged that the attackers had used known routes, suggesting that the attack may have been retaliation for previous clashes elsewhere.

Also speaking, Utoo also faulted a claim by the presidential spokesman that the attack was a reprisal.

He said, “I read a statement by President Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga on the attack, and that was the most unfortunate presidential comment I’ve ever seen in history.

“From the beginning of that statement to the end, there was nowhere he mentioned the two most important things: arresting the perpetrators and bringing them to justice. Nowhere. He was concentrating on reconciliation. He was addressing us as warring parties. Which war are we fighting?

“Between who and who? Where is the center of the war? So it’s very unfortunate that a president could say something like this.

“He never even talked about providing relief to those who survived or assisting those who are grieving. So that statement is the most unfortunate statement I’ve ever seen.”

On the contrary, the Federal Government, through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, admitted that over 200 people had died. Yet even that figure does not fully capture the scale of destruction.

Silence, delays and  Governor’s absence

For the people of Yelewata, the greatest betrayal may not be the attack itself, but the government’s slow and cold response.

Governor Alia reportedly waited over 48 hours to comment on the killings, a development that has sparked public outrage.

“We expected him to come here. To mourn with us. Even if he had nothing to offer, he could at least show sympathy. But he stayed silent and then downplayed our pain,” Tever Japhet, a community leader lamented.

The Benue Police Commissioner and Deputy Governor were said to have visited briefly, but community members claimed they left hurriedly, without engaging survivors or offering aid.

Adding to the heartbreak, security operatives were swift to disperse protests held in Makurdi by angry youths, including activist, Vincent Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, demanding justice.

Tear gas, arrests of 14 persons and intimidation greeted demonstrators who had simply asked: Why are we being killed with impunity?

A cry that echoed beyond borders

The horror in Yelewata has continued to spark national and international outrage, with reactions pouring in from across Nigeria and the globe.

From religious leaders, entertainers and politicians to activists and socio-cultural organisations, voices of anger, grief and condemnation have risen in response to what many now describe as Benue’s darkest hour.

In a Sunday address from Rome, Pope Leo XIV, described the attack as a “terrible massacre,” calling for justice, protection and peace for rural Christian communities in Benue and across Nigeria.

“I am praying for security and peace in Nigeria, especially for those affected by violence in Benue,” the Pope said.

List of some of the murdered victims as provided by Franc Utoo.

1. Fanen Chii

2. Doom Chii

3. Terzungwe Chii

4. Edeember Uke

5. Aondodoo Uke

6. Adohi Dooga

7. Mbanyiar Dooga

8. Ikyoche Dooga

9. Awanboi Dooga

10. Regina Dooga

11. Adoo Dooga

12. Aondofa Dooga

13. Mathew Iormba

14. Apam Iormba

15. Philomena Iormba

16. Akama Iormba

17. Ngodoo Iormba

18. Kumawues Iormba

19. Nensha Iormba

20. Victoria Tsegba

21. Ngodoo Tsegba

22. Mimidoo Tsegba

23. Dorathy Tsegba

24. Msendoo Tsegba

25. Iorgyer Kyule

26. Ute Dooga

27. Shaadye Koornam

28. Sewuese Iorember

29. Dooshima Aondoana

30. Agbogo Aondoana

31. Erdoo Aondoana

32. Orsoja Ikpakyaa

33. Injinia Ikpakyaa

34. Chia Orshio

35. Uyina Orshio

36. Katie Orshio

37. Myuega Orshio

38. Usha Orshio

39. Philomena Orshio

40. Alia Orshio

41. Lydia Ajah

42. Terdoo Ajah

43. Iwuese Ajah

44. Orbuter Anya

45. Terzungwe Akpen

46. Aondohemba Akpen

47. Ushana Akpen

48. Shater Akpen

49. Mercy Akpen

50. Isaac Akpen

51. Doowuese Ugbah

52. Ngodoo Ugba

53. Manta Simon

54. Manta Laadi

55. Manta Iwuese

56. Doose Asoo

57. Aondosoo Asoo

58. Terlumun Fidelis

59. Yakov Shagwa

60. Margaret Shagwa

61. Erdoo Shagwa

62. Dooauur Shagwa

63. Sewuese Shagwa

64. Logo Ukô

65. Eunice Tyokuwa

66. Jude Aza

67. Kwaghhar Ordue

68. Doosuur Ordue

69. Terngu Nongotse

70. Msugh Nongotse

71. Dooshima Nongotse

72. Orlogbo Lamaaondo

73. Laadi Lamaaondo

74. Awan Shiôr

75. Aondohemba Ucha

76. Bonashe Uzer

77. Amaki Dende

78. Angbiandoo Dende

79. Festus Amaki

80. Mbaufe Ubi

81. Matthew Uto

82. Doopinen Uto

83. Kumater Uto

84. Terhile Uto

85. Versuwe Zerkohol

86. Mbakeren Aondovihi

87. Monday Aondovihi

88. Erdoo Aondovihi

89. Joe Aondovihi

90. Mwarga Aondovihi

91. Felicia Gwabo

92. Mary Gwabo

93. Terhemba Gwabo

94. Jirgema Gwabo

95. Mercy Dende

96. Lubem Dende

97. Uwundu Iorhemen

98. Gabriel Fide

99. Aondoana Fide

100. Ukese Fide

101. Averter Fide

102. Mwaraorga Fide

103. Terkimbir Solomon

104. Amina Kongo

105. Terkula Kongo

106. Doose Asoo

107. Aboi Asoo

108. Shater Amaki

109. Lumunga Gbem

110. Doose Ayom

111. Mama Mfanyi

112. Samson Uke

113. Aboi Korna

114. Aondoawase Lamaaondo

115. Ormbagba Utim

116. Mermber Lamaaondo

117. Doose Ordue

118. Torsaar Adam

119. Doose Adam

120.  Nguyilan Adam

1. Terver Ucha

2. Agon Ucha

3. Aondohemba Ucha

4. Atuur Asom

5. Uvershigh Asom

6. Nongo Ulam

7. Aondoaver Ulam.

What’s next for Yelewata?

Right now, Yelewata is a graveyard of grief and questions. Survivors are still burying the dead. Some are still searching for missing family members. However, the question on the lips of many is: Will Yelewata ever recover from this carnage?

This is the question begging for an answer, one that even time may struggle to provide.

Indeed, it was one attack, too many.