“BENUE YELWATA’S NIGHT OF FIRE”: INSIDE THE BENUE MASSACRE THAT STUNNED NIGERIA

“BENUE YELWATA’S NIGHT OF FIRE”: INSIDE THE BENUE MASSACRE THAT STUNNED NIGERIA

Date: 17 June 2025  

By: Audoz Buzz Investigations Desk


🔥 What happened?


Shortly after nightfall last Friday (13 June) armed men swept into Yelwata, a farming hub in Guma LGA, Benue State.  By dawn the next day at least 100 – 150 civilians lay dead; many had been shot in their sleep, others trapped as homes and market stalls were torched.  Amnesty International calls it “one of the deadliest single assaults on Benue in years.” 


👥 Faces behind the numbers


“I lost five members of my family. My body is weak, my heart keeps racing,” 37-year-old farmer Fidelis Adidi told Reuters as he stood before the charred room that once sheltered his wives and children. 


Pregnant trader Talatu Agauta returned to discover 40 bags of rice—her entire harvest—reduced to ash.  “Even if I die here, I don’t mind. This is home.” 



📊 The toll so far


Metric Latest figure


Confirmed dead ≥ 150 (community & rights-group tally) 

Displaced residents ≈ 6,000 seeking shelter in schools, churches & open fields 

Property lost Entire market block,  dozens of homes, livestock & stored grain



⚔️ Who is blamed?


Survivors and local officials point to heavily-armed Fulani militia, the latest flash-point in Nigeria’s long-running farmer-herder conflict over land, grazing routes and water.  No group has claimed responsibility; police say an investigation is under way. 


🏛️ Government & security response


President Bola Tinubu condemned the killings as “senseless blood-letting” and will visit Benue tomorrow (18 June)—his first trip to the state since assuming office. 


The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is coordinating aid for thousands now homeless. 


On Sunday, residents protesting insecurity in Makurdi were dispersed with tear gas by police. 



🌍 Why this matters


Benue—dubbed Nigeria’s “Food Basket”—has lost more than 1,500 lives to cyclical violence in the past five years.  Each attack deepens hunger, fuels displacement, and erodes faith in state protection.  Analysts warn that without a decisive move toward ranching policies, rapid justice, and community-led early-warning systems, the carnage could spread across the Middle Belt.


🗣️ Audoz Buzz take


> “We cannot normalise weekly mass graves.”

— Audoz Buzz Editorial Board




The massacre is a grim reminder that security pledges ring hollow when villages repeatedly bury their own.  Survivors don’t just need condolences—they need arrests, fair trials, and guarantees that tomorrow night will be different from last Friday’s horror.  Anything less feeds the cycle.


💬 What’s next?


1. Presidential visit – We’ll track concrete commitments Tinubu makes on the ground.


2. Justice watch – Will the promised investigation yield indictments or fade away like past probes?


3. Rebuilding Yelwata – Follow our series on how displaced farmers restart life when farmlands become battlefields.

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