A wave of brutal jihadi violence in Nigeria’s Benue state has left over 6,500 people displaced, following a massacre in the Christian town of Yelewata. Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed Tuesday that 6,527 individuals have been forced from their homes, with more than 3,000 in immediate need of food, water, and medical aid.
The attack on Yelewata took place Friday and has resulted in at least 150 deaths. Armed assailants, described by survivors as Fulani gunmen, trapped entire families in their homes and set them ablaze. Rescuers continue to search the charred remains of the village.
One resident, Titus Tsegba, described how his wife and children were burned alive while he was away in another part of town. “Everything is gone,” he told reporters, identifying his youngest child among the victims as just eight years old.
The gunmen destroyed the town’s food supplies, erasing a year’s worth of farming and plunging the region into a growing hunger crisis. The victims include 82 pregnant women, 252 lactating mothers, and 657 children. NEMA is coordinating emergency relief but says needs remain urgent.
The violence spread beyond Yelewata to the nearby town of Daudu, where additional lives were lost, including two soldiers and an officer from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps. A local pharmacist, Matthew Lormba, was among the dead. Nigeria’s doctors’ association warned Monday that health workers are increasingly being targeted, further eroding an already fragile healthcare system.
The Nigerian government, led by President Bola Tinubu, has faced mounting criticism for its failure to secure Christian communities. A senior member of Tinubu’s own All Progressives Congress (APC), Chinedu Ikeagwuonwu Klinsmann, called for the president to deliver concrete results during his scheduled visit to Benue. Klinsmann demanded immediate security action, including the formation of community-based defense units with military and drone support.
Klinsmann also urged Tinubu to accelerate the National Livestock Transformation Plan—aimed at moving Fulani herders into organized ranches—as a solution to the land disputes that often trigger these attacks.
Benue Governor Hyacinth Alia stated that the attackers weren’t herding cattle but were heavily armed with AK-47s and driven by an agenda of occupation. He accused outsiders, including foreign terrorists crossing from Cameroon, of participating in the assaults. Alia also blamed internal collaborators within the communities.
As international pressure builds, the crisis in Benue highlights Nigeria’s growing security vacuum and the unchecked slaughter of Christian populations in rural regions. Calls are intensifying for the Tinubu administration to abandon photo ops and deliver immediate, measurable protection for vulnerable communities.
