Friday, June 13, 2025, would surely go down in history as one of the darkest days in the history of Benue State.
It was a day the people of the state, particularly the Yelewate community in Guma Local Government Area, will not forget in a hurry. On that day, over 200 of their kith and kin were murdered in their sleep by rampaging herdsmen.
The marauders had, on the said day, stormed the community at about 10 pm, shooting sporadically and burning people alive in the market stalls and homes in an attack that lasted about four hours.
Also, the carnage generated global outrage and was referenced by Pope Leo XIV, who called for prayers for Benue and the victims of the attack.
President Bola Tinubu was also forced to cancel his scheduled trip to Kaduna last Wednesday to pay a condolence visit to the state and also seek means of ending the ceaseless armed herdsmen incursions in the state.
Killings
The President arrived on Wednesday at 12:58 pm and, after completing airport formalities, proceeded to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Makurdi, to sympathise with survivors of the attack. He then headed to Government House, where he participated in a town hall meeting with Benue stakeholders.
The forum was aimed at finding a lasting solution to the killings.
The meeting had in attendance key national and state-level figures, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, Governors, particularly from the North Central zone, and that of Imo state, Hope Uzodima, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Umar Ganduje, Ministers, National Assembly members, top government functionaries, traditional rulers and a host of others.
At the meeting, the Chairman of the Benue State Traditional Council and Tor Tiv, His Royal Majesty Orchivirigh James Ayatse, set the tone for the day’s deliberation.
He lauded President Tinubu for being the first Nigerian leader to visit the state at a time of such crisis, saying the world is being misinformed about what was happening in the state.
The monarch said: “We do have grave concern about the misinformation and misrepresentation about the security crisis in Benue State.
“It is not herders/farmers clashes, it is not communal clashes, it is not reprisal attacks or skirmishes. It is this misinformation that led to suggestions to ensure tolerance, negotiate for peace, and learn to live with your neighbours.
“What we are dealing with in Benue is a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land grabbing campaign by terrorists and bandits, which has been on for decades.”
Civil War
The royal father, who recalled the sacrifices made by the people of the state to keep the country together, said: “Many of our people died during the Civil War, we paid the supreme price to keep this country united.
“There is a genocide in our land. It is not a clash, but a well-orchestrated and well-coordinated attack aimed at wiping out our people.
“We know you are a courageous leader. You are a focused leader. You are a determined leader. You have the courage and the political will to end this menace.
“You have taken hard decisions and actions that many people before you did not dare. You have handled the subsidy removal challenge and exchange rate investment decisions. I believe you can give us peace. All we ask for is peace.”
While referring to the similar fate that had befallen the Tiv-speaking people in Nasarawa State, who he said had been sacked from their ancestral homes after allegedly being tagged settlers, the Tor Tiv said: “They have been in Nasarawa State before the 18th century. They cannot be settlers. They need to go back to their ancestral homes to continue with their lives.”
In his speech, Governor Hyacinth Alia commended President Tinubu for his prompt visit to the state in the wake of the attack, noting that the President’s decision to cancel other engagements to personally visit the state was a demonstration of true leadership.
Annihilating
The governor lamented that: “The attacks on the peace-loving and good people of Benue State have persisted for well over a decade. This, we have cause to feel is a calculated attempt targeted at annihilating us and taking over our ancestral homes.”
While noting that the visit marked the first time a serving President would visit the state on the account of insecurity, the governor said: “We believe this will bring an end to the security challenges that have persisted against our people in Benue State.”
Continuing, he said: “Even though our eyes are full of tears and emotional grief due to the loss of our loved ones, our properties, farmlands and ancestral homes, our hopes are ignited by your visit.
“Before the visit, the Service Chiefs and different security formations visited and we are hopeful that, this visit will bring the lasting peace the people of Benue State have long yearned for.
“Your presence is a reassurance and we are confident that, never again will our people be subjected to this degree of inhumanity.
“While we continue to mourn our losses and rebuild from the ashes of pain, we humbly urge the Federal Government to consider establishing a special intervention fund for communities affected by these incessant attacks in Benue State. Such a fund would go a long way in supporting the rehabilitation of displaced persons, rebuilding destroyed infrastructure, and restoring the livelihoods of our farmers and families whose lives have been upended. Our administration will keep working to ensure that our people are not only safe but can thrive again on their land.
“Let me also reiterate my firm support for the establishment of state police as a sustainable solution to the persistent insecurity in our state and perhaps elsewhere. While I acknowledge the concerns surrounding its implementation, I believe the federal government can address these by setting clear, state-specific guidelines and regulatory frameworks to prevent any potential misuse.”
Peace
Addressing the gathering President Tinubu called for an end to land grabbing in the country.
He also directed the establishment of a committee of elders in Benue State to find lasting peace.
Tinubu promised to host the meeting in Abuja to fashion a way for peace. He said:”I am ready to invest in that peace. We are here not to show our faces but to share your pains and to condole you for the loss of lives.
I aborted my visit to Yelewata because of the rains, but I have seen the carnage on camera to enable us make a decision. We will do something about the redevelopment and recreation of that environment.
“This is not the kind of visit I would have wanted. I want to be here to commission projects in the state for progress and development.
“We were not elected to bury people and have orphans and orphanages. We will work with you to achieve peace. We are here to work with the people. The people of Benue deserve peace as Tor Tiv mentioned. For us in Nigeria, we have to proffer solutions to this. We have to confront this if it is about land grabbing. Let us please find a way to form a committee of elders. That committee will comprise those who have governed this state before.
“I am ready to invest in that peace. We will find peace and we will convert this challenge to prosperity.”
President Tinubu questioned the Inspector General of Police on why arrests had not been made. “How come no one has been arrested for committing this heinous crime in Yelewata. Inspector General of Police, where are the arrests? The criminals must be arrested immediately,” he directed.
He urged the heads of the Department of State Services, DSS, and the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, to intensify surveillance and gather actionable intelligence to apprehend the perpetrators.
Emergency
Reacting to the President’s visit, a retired Assistant Inspector-General, AIG, of Police, Austin Iwar described the visit as significant, but deeply underwhelming.
AIG Iwar said: “President Tinubu’s visit to Benue State was significant, but deeply underwhelming. While his directive to arrest perpetrators of the Yelewata massacre is welcome, the overall framing of the crisis as a ‘state issue’ misses the mark entirely. By deflecting responsibility to Governor Alia and calling for a peace committee without a concrete federal security roadmap, the President risks reinforcing the very failures that have allowed this tragedy to persist.
“President Tinubu’s visit to Benue should have been a turning point. For families who have lost loved ones, for farmers chased from their land, and for children growing up in overcrowded IDP camps, it was a moment to finally hear that their pains mattered. Instead of hope, they were handed hesitation. Instead of decisive federal action, they were told to look to their state Governor.
“The crisis in Benue is not a state matter alone. It is a national emergency.
“The President’s visit should have been a watershed moment. Instead, it fell short of providing the urgency, depth, and federal commitment needed to address a situation that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced entire communities for nearly a decade.
“The President must go beyond generalised sympathy and vague calls for peace. As the Tor Tiv rightly stated, this is not a ‘communal clash’ or a ‘herder-farmer conflict.’ It is a sustained campaign of armed violence, land occupation, and displacement. Treating it as anything less leads to inadequate policy responses.
“Calling for arrests without a nationwide strategy to disarm and dismantle the armed groups behind these atrocities will only recycle the problem. Peace committees are important, but you cannot dialogue with ghosts. Who are we negotiating with if no group has claimed responsibility or declared their grievances? Without identifying and engaging clear actors, peace talks risk being a performance.
“Arrest orders made in public forums often lose meaning when not followed by concrete outcomes. The President should demand weekly reports on arrests, prosecutions, and progress in stabilising Benue.
“If no suspects are identified, he must question the competence and accountability of security chiefs. Leadership requires outcomes, not soundbites.
“Benue does not need more promises. It needs protection, prosecution of offenders, and permanent peace. The people of Benue are not asking for miracles. They are asking to live. To return home. To plant their crops. To sleep through the night without fear. Anything less will be seen as an abdication of duty. It is abandonment.”
The Chairman of Benue Tribal leaders and President General of Mzough U Tiv, MUT, Chief Iorbee Ihagh, who commended the visit of the President to the state, however, said he expected a concrete declaration made to stop armed herdsmen from moving around the country. He cautioned that the terrorists were on a mission to take over Nigeria and advised the President to end open grazing in the country.
Communities
He said:”As I speak, I am displaced, my community in Moon Ward of Kwande LGA has been taken over by armed herdsmen for years now and all our people have been sacked from their ancestral homes.
“You can imagine that for over 10 years I have not been able to visit my village, even when I lost my wife recently I could not take her home for burial. “We want Fulani herdsmen removed from our state, we can no longer live with them. No one can live with his killers.
“So I’m advising Governor Hyacinth Alia to ensure strict implementation and enforcement of the Benue Grazing Law with the support of the Federal Government while the President also ensures that the marching orders he gave heads of security agencies are implemented to the latter. It is only when that is done that we can confidently say the President’s visit to Benue State has set in motion a remarkable turnaround in our state. “
VANGUARD.
