Another massacre in Benue. Another round of headlines, condemnations, and shallow promises. Then silence. Until it happens again.
The grainy images from Yelewata, a quiet farming town in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, are harrowing. Charred homes, shallow mass graves, survivors crouched in trauma, recounting the night when everything changed. Between 13 and 14 June 2025, gunmen descended on a makeshift camp in the market square, where displaced villagers, mostly Christian farmers, had taken refuge. According to witnesses, they came at night, from different angles, opened fire and set homes ablaze.
By morning, at least 100 people were confirmed dead, though local leaders claim the true number exceeds 150, with one family losing as many as 23 members in the attack. Their lives discarded. However, their killers, Fulani herdsmen, may likely never be named, let alone arrested. This has happened too many times before.
Security forces reportedly engaged the attackers during the incident, though details remain unclear.
The reason behind the killings
This massacre is not an isolated event; it is another chapter in a long and agonising history of violence that has gripped Nigeria’s Middle Belt for over a decade. Benue, often referred to as the “Food Basket of the Nation,” is scarred by a conflict as complex as it is deadly: a protracted, often brutal struggle between sedentary farming communities and nomadic cattle herders, many of whom are of Fulani ethnicity.
At its core, the conflict revolves around land — who owns it, who grazes on it, and gets to claim it when environmental changes, migration pressures, and political failures collide. Yet, over the years, it has taken on dangerous religious and ethnic overtones. Farmers are predominantly Christian; many herders are Muslim. The killings, once perceived as isolated incidents, have now evolved into coordinated, armed attacks, leaving behind torched villages, emptied farmlands, and mass displacement.
In the past two years, Amnesty International reports that almost 7,000 people have reportedly been killed in Benue State alone. Entire communities have been erased, and more than 1.5 million residents have been forced to flee their homes. Camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) are overflowing, while hunger and trauma fester with little respite.
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Government’s response to the killings
The government’s response has been a mix of condemnation and slow-moving or non-existent action. Following the recent Yelewata massacre, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called the violence “senseless bloodletting” and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
On his directive, intelligence chiefs, the police, and the military have arrived in the state to direct security operations and restore sanity. They have been instructed to convene reconciliation dialogues to end the bloodshed and bring lasting peace between herders and the indigenous communities.
Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, reported that federal intervention had helped reduce the number of active attack zones in the state, but admitted that the crisis is far from over. In his report, he disclosed that the killings across the state are no longer solely the work of herders but also involve foreign terrorists. He noted that many of the assailants are heavily armed, travel without cattle, and do not speak any Nigerian language.
The Nigerian Army Chief paid a visit to the region earlier this month, promising heightened security deployments. Yet, survivors and human rights groups say these promises feel hollow. Groups like Amnesty International and Christian watchdog organisations have consistently raised the alarm, accusing authorities of failing to investigate or prosecute those responsible for mass killings. The result is a chilling climate of impunity — and fear.
Many Nigerians recall the failed attempt by the federal government to establish “Ruga” settlements — a grazing reserve policy aimed at addressing herder-farmer conflicts. They suspended the plan after widespread public backlash, especially from states like Benue, where residents feared the policy would legitimise land grabs and inflame tensions further.
Finding a lasting solution to the killings
Today, Nigerians, as well as local and international bodies, are calling for more than statements. Experts urge a multi-pronged response: stricter border controls, improved surveillance, community policing, and dialogue to address lingering land disputes. The enforcement of anti-open grazing laws, which have already been passed in Benue, needs to be consistent and just, avoiding blanket stigmatisation while ensuring security.
However, security is only one part of the solution. Nigeria’s government must invest in real peace-building actions, and responsible implementation of grazing policies that do not fuel suspicion. We must centre victims, not just in our empathy, but in our policies. Help them rebuild, replant, and recover.
What Benue needs most now is not another condolence visit from the President. It demands action and justice. The people of Benue need to know that the rest of Nigeria sees their pain and refuses to look away. They need support to rebuild homes, replant fields, and restore a sense of peace. If we keep looking away, one day it won’t just be Benue. It will be all of us.
