Family loses 23 members as many killed in Benue attack

Tsegba Gbam Ayua is one of many residents reeling from the aftermath of armed invaders’ attack on Yelewata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, which claimed the lives of scores, including his wife and four children.

The grieving husband and father, still struggling to accept the reality of losing his entire family in a single night, expressed fears that he may never recover from the trauma.

“I had been displaced from Ayua in Nasarawa State for over two years and was taking refuge with my family in Yelewata. A few days before the incident, I travelled back to Nasarawa to do menial jobs so I could support my family,” Ayua told our correspondent in Makurdi on Sunday.

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He continued, “Then, around 11 pm on Friday, I got a call that our host community was under attack. I rushed back early Saturday morning, only to find the worst nightmare of my life. My wife and four children had been burned to ashes inside the market stalls where they were sleeping. Over 100 corpses were recovered in the area.”

He said he buried his family the same day and is now struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.

Prince Aondona Isaka Ornguga also spoke on how he lost at least 23 family members in the attack while fighting back emotion to recount the scale of devastation done to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Yelewata, a border rural town of Benue with Nasarawa State.

Ornguga, a former Senior Special Assistant to ex-Governor Samuel Ortom on Local Government Administration, said the 23 victims were all related to him through his maternal lineage.

“I spoke with two of the victims -Victor Utim and Mathew Iormba – about three weeks ago. They are my first cousins from Tse Tarbee, my mother’s village. While Utim just wrote JAMB, and we were working on getting admission for him. Iormba told me he went to check his business around there,” he narrated.

He expressed worry that the victims were killed in the most inhumane manner.

“Iormba was a pharmacist. He had a tall dream, but look at how it all ended for them. And for Utim, this is not what we discussed,” Ornguga lamented.

For Mama Victoria Tyobee, a survivor, she still could not fathom how she escaped from the daredevils.

Tyobee said, “We were sleeping when, about midnight, I heard a gunshot, and looking through the window, I saw one of the attackers with a weapon standing right by my house. As I was wondering what to do next, there were sporadic gunshots, and the man fled into the nearby bushes.

“It was after a while that I mustered the courage to step out of the house. I later discovered that my relatives were not so fortunate. We lost three of them. It’s indeed a very sad experience.”

Apart from these survivors and bereaved families, there are many others with untold stories of the unfortunate incident, which happened on Friday night and spanned into the early hours of Saturday.

At least 107 people were reportedly killed, while many others were injured and are now receiving treatment in hospitals.

“They burnt people alive – entire families: husbands, wives, and children. It’s already about 107 dead bodies recovered and still counting. Some of the victims had fled previous attacks, only to be slaughtered here,” one resident said.

Multiple sources confirmed that the attackers doused roadside stalls and makeshift shelters with petrol before setting them ablaze.

The victims included IDPs from communities such as Antsa, Dooka, Kadarko, Udei, and Giza, who had sought refuge in Yelewata, believing it to be safer due to the presence of nearby security checkpoints.

A community leader in Yelewata and former acting Chairman of the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Matthew Mnyan, told journalists that, “A single family of 15 was wiped out. Children had their throats slit. Toddlers were killed like animals. It’s heartbreaking.”

Mnyan said the death toll could be over 200, as he noted that they were still taking records of the bodies recovered alongside those who died on the way to receiving medical attention.

Chief Dennis Denen Gbongbon, a prominent farmers’ leader in the area, confirmed that the majority of those killed were Tiv farmers and displaced persons.

“These people were already living on the margins. Now they’ve been reduced to ashes. I saw the bodies- many of them burnt beyond recognition,” he said.

Other witnesses recounted a terrifying two-hour siege that overwhelmed the local youth and police who attempted to resist the attackers.

“They came in two groups. While we tried to hold off those advancing from the west, another group attacked from the east and overran us,” a resident explained.

On the same night, a separate attack was reported in Daudu in the same Guma LGA, about a 20-minute drive from Makurdi, where armed herders reportedly ambushed military personnel responding to an invasion threat.

It was gathered that two soldiers, including a captain, one Civil Defence personnel, making three security operatives, were killed by the armed invaders in the ambush, while a policeman remained missing.

A resident of Daudu, who preferred to be identified as Ikyott, said the timely intervention of the security personnel and youths of the area warded off the attack.

“Our youths and soldiers under Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) mounted a strong resistance, killing some of the attackers. Unfortunately, some security personnel also lost their lives in the process,” Ikyott said.

The Chairman of Guma LGA, Maurice Orwough, confirmed the attack on Channels Television without disclosing the actual number of fatalities, but merely saying that many have been killed, while more than 26 people have been hospitalised.

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security and Internal Affairs, Chief Joseph Har, confirmed both incidents to journalists but said full details were still being gathered.

He said, “It’s true. I’m aware of the attacks in Yelewata and Daudu. But I’m not on the ground to give the complete picture yet.”

Similarly, the Benue police spokesperson, DSP Udeme Edet, also confirmed the Yelewata attack, saying tactical teams were deployed and some attackers were neutralised.

“Unfortunately, lives were lost. We are still pursuing the perpetrators,” she stated without giving any figure of casualties, even as at the time of filing this report.

Lt. Zubair Ahmad, the Public Relations Officer of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), has remained mute over the killings of the soldiers and security operatives attached to the special squad.

Police teargas protesters

Meanwhile, the sad incident has provoked a mass protest from various groups, especially youths and civil groups who took to the streets to express their anger, blocking major roads and demanding government action.

The first wave of protests began on Saturday evening in Daudu, where demonstrators blocked the Lafia–Makurdi highway for several hours.

The situation was brought under control after operatives of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), led by Force Commander Major General Moses Gara, intervened and persuaded the protesters to vacate the road to ease the movement of stranded commuters.

However, the protests intensified on Sunday morning as more groups of demonstrators converged at the Wurukum Roundabout in Makurdi, despite a heavy security presence in the city.

Our correspondent observed that as early as 7 am, operatives from the police, Nigerian Army, NSCDC, NDLEA, and other security agencies had been deployed to strategic locations, including the Wurukum junction, where an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) was stationed.

By 9:30 am, the protesters had occupied the Wurukum Roundabout to demand justice for the slain victims, but around 11 am, police operatives fired teargas canisters to disperse the growing crowd.

Police teargas protesters

The development caused a momentary chaos around Wurukum vicinity up to the new bridge linking North Bank metropolis to the city centre, with vehicles shattering glass.

Despite the dispersal, the protest gained renewed momentum as demonstrators regrouped at the T-junction along George Akume Road and other parts of Makurdi, such as Gyado villa on Gboko Road.

They were joined by popular social media activist #VeryDarkMan, who called for justice and accountability.

At the Wurukum protest scene, the Benue State Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, appealed for calm, urging the youths to shelve the protest in light of renewed federal security interventions.

“The Inspector General of Police has taken over the security of Benue State,” Emenari said.

He added, “As I speak to you, the IG has already deployed Special Forces who are on the ground, and more are on the way. These are intelligence-led units. They will go wherever the bandits are and bring them to justice.

“The ones you see here on the ground just arrived last night. The previous sets have been deployed to Naka, Apa, Agatu, Daudu, and Yelewata. We are in control of the situation, so I’m assuring all citizens of the state that we are in control. All the security agencies are with us on this. We have already made some arrests.

“The governor has already given us all the necessary support.”

However, as of press time, protests were still ongoing, with residents calling for lasting solutions to the recurring attacks in the state.

Governor Hyacinth Alia on Sunday condemned the attacks and massacre of innocent citizens at Yelewata by suspected criminal herders, saying nothing should warrant the taking of life.

Alia, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, noted that his deputy, Barr. Sam Ode, who visited the scene of the heinous act earlier Sunday on his directives, delivered the message that he (the governor) is not resting on his oars to ensure the state experiences peace.

“Governor Hyacinth Alia acknowledges and shares in your pains and grief caused by the attacks on your community by criminal elements suspected to be armed herdsmen.

“The state government is consistently engaging with federal security agencies, traditional rulers, community leaders, and relevant stakeholders to strengthen security interventions and provide lasting solutions to these persistent attacks,” the statement reads in part.

Security expert speaks

A retired Senior Intelligence Security Officer of the Department of State Services (DSS), John Noah, said the permanent solution for the present insecurity in Benue and other parts of the country would require a gradual process to actualise.

Noah stressed the involvement of traditional institutions in massively engaging their youths at the community level through sensitisation and intelligence gathering to nip insecurity in the bud.

Following the attack on Yelwata community, the Executive Secretary of the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Sir James Iorpuu, on Saturday night led a team to relocate victims to Makurdi town.

Iorpuu said the swift response was made by the collaborative efforts of the Commissioner for Trade and Investment, the Director-General of the Benue State Peace Commission, the General Manager of Benue Links, and the UNHCR, whose support made the successful evacuation of the victims possible.

“It is with a heavy heart that I welcome you to the International Market emergency camp, established by Benue SEMA to accommodate victims of last night’s brutal assault on Yelwata community,” he told the victims while welcoming them.

Attacks barbaric, unacceptable – OPWS Force Commander

The Force Commander of Joint Task Force Operation WHIRL STROKE (OPWS), Major General Moses Gara, described the recent attacks as “barbaric and unacceptable,” promising an operational strategy to end killings in the state.

Gara, who undertook an operational visit to several crisis-hit communities in Benue State on Saturday, noted that it was aimed at reassessing troops’ deployment and engaging local stakeholders in the development of decisive security strategies to counter the activities of marauding insurgents wreaking havoc in the area.

The commander, during the visit to Yelwata Village, Tse-Mtwenem, Daudu, and Iye village, held crucial engagements with community leaders and other critical stakeholders, assuring them of the military’s renewed operational strategy targeted at ending the persistent attacks and restoring enduring peace across the affected areas.

“Today, I stand not just as a commander, but as a fellow Nigerian who understands your pain and suffering. The Nigerian security establishment is with you. We are not here to observe; we are here to act. We will pursue the perpetrators of these heinous crimes and ensure they face justice,” he stated.

General Gara, in a statement by OPWS spokesman, Lt. Zubairu Ahmad further reassured traditional rulers, opinion leaders, and other stakeholders that OPWS has intensified intelligence gathering and has implemented robust operational strategies, including the deployment of additional troops to strategic locations and that the measures are aimed at preventing further incursions by criminal elements.

Speaking on behalf of the community, Iorkyaa Emmanuel expressed confidence in the military’s ability to decisively deal with the assailants as he pledged the community’s support to the military and advocated for a sustained security presence in the remote areas to deter future attacks.

Tinubu, Atiku, Pope, CAN react

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed security chiefs to implement his earlier directive to bring lasting peace and security to Benue State.

The president also called on the State Governor Hyacinth Alia to institute a reconciliation process among communities in the state.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy in a statement, said  “On the president’s directive, intelligence chiefs, the police and the military have arrived in the state to direct security operations and restore sanity.”

Describing the killings and bloodletting as inhuman and anti-progress, President Tinubu called on political leaders and community leaders in conflict areas to stop fuelling the crisis through unguarded utterances and statements that could further inflame tensions.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also called on the federal and Benue State governments to immediately institute an investigation into the renewed killings in Benue State.

Atiku, who condemned the killings, described it as a national emergency.

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki also described the killings in Benue State as tragic, terrifying and unacceptable.

The former Kwara State governor, in a statement on his social media platforms, said the troubling thing about the attack was that many of those killed were already displaced and living in the IDP camps.

Pope Leo prayed on Sunday for the victims of a “terrible massacre” in Benue State.

Speaking just before delivering the Sunday Angelus prayer, the Pope prayed for “security, justice, and peace” in Nigeria, adding that he was thinking in particular of the “rural Christian communities of the Benue State who have been relentless victims of violence”.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently declare total war against criminals terrorising Benue, Borno and other parts of the country.

In a statement issued by its Secretary General, Elder Sunday Oibe, over the incessant killings and abductions, the Christian body said President Tinubu should direct security agencies to neutralise the threat within a clear and enforceable timeframe.

CAN stressed that in case the situation is beyond the capacity of Nigeria’s security forces, the government should seek international assistance to halt the killings and abductions.

Contributions from Baba Martins