Over 200 people have been killed in a coordinated night attack in Yelewata community, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, prompting calls for urgent security intervention in the volatile Benue-Nasarawa corridor.
Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has urged security agencies to immediately reevaluate their strategy around the region following the massacre, which saw victims burned alive, butchered, and ambushed in what appears to be a well-coordinated assault.
In a particularly tragic development, soldiers responding to the initial attack were also killed in a subsequent ambush, further highlighting the severity of the security situation in the area.
IDPs Targeted in Brutal Attack
Most disturbingly, the majority of victims were already internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had previously fled their ancestral homes seeking safety, only to be hunted down in what should have been a place of refuge.
"What happened in Yelewata is tragic, terrifying, and unacceptable," Saraki stated in a post on X. "The perpetrators of this heinous act must be brought to justice."
The former Senate President extended his condolences to Governor Hyacinth Alia and the people of Benue State while calling for a broader reassessment of security in the North Central region.
Public Outrage and Protests
The killings have sparked significant public outrage, with protests erupting across Benue State. In one incident, angry youths blocked the Abuja-Makurdi highway and reportedly chased away the Police Commissioner from a protest ground, telling him to "Go to Yelewata" instead.
Some protesters have accused Governor Alia of paying lip service to the killings, while police have responded to demonstrations with teargas in some locations.
Governor Alia has condemned the massacre and pledged to deploy more security operatives to affected areas, though public sentiment suggests many believe stronger action is needed.
Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has also weighed in on the situation, describing the Benue killings as a "failure of leadership" and calling for the declaration of a national emergency.
The Yelewata massacre represents one of the deadliest episodes in the ongoing security challenges facing Nigeria's Middle Belt region, where farmer-herder conflicts and other forms of violence have claimed thousands of lives in recent years.
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