The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has conveyed the Federal Government’s commitment to contain the killings in Benue State and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Several people were killed over the weekend at Yelewata in Benue State following a vicious attack on the border town by suspected herdsmen.
Following the incident, President Bola Tinubu directed security chiefs to implement his earlier directive to bring lasting peace and security to the state.
READ ALSO:IGP Arrives Benue, Deploys More Tactical Teams To End Killings
Tinubu charged the governor with convening reconciliation meetings and dialogue among the warring parties to end the incessant bloodshed and bring lasting peace and harmonious coexistence between farmers, herders, and communities.
Speaking at a meeting with Governor Hyacinth Alia on Monday at the government house in Makurdi, Egbetokun reiterated Tinubu’sworries over the killings in Benue which also touches on the territorial sovereignty of the nation.
Also speaking during the visit of the IGP, Alia appreciated the President and the Nigerian security services for stepping up operations to contain the attacks.
He, however, lamented the surge of attacks on vulnerable communities and called for strategies that would keep Benue residents safe.
The IGP later left the government house for the scene of attacks in Yelewata to see things for himself and make an assessment of how to contain the crisis in Benue.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Monday said that 6,527 people have so far been displaced by the attacks in Benue State.
It also said that over 3,000 displaced residents, including women and children, were in urgent need of food, non-food items, potable water, and essential medical supplies.
NEMA, in a statement on its official X account, said those displaced included 82 pregnant women, 252 lactating mothers, and 657 children under 18.
“As of last night, displacement figures stood at 1,069 households, comprising 6,527 individuals. Among them are 1,768 females, 759 males, 657 children under 18, 1,870 adults above 18, 252 lactating mothers, 82 pregnant women, and 91 elderly persons.
READ ALSO: 17 Benue LGAs Were Under Siege, FG’s Efforts Reduced It To Three – Gov Alia
“Urgent humanitarian support is being mobilised and delivered to alleviate the hardship of the displaced persons,” it stated.
The agency said the casualty figures from the attack in the Yelewata community in the Guma Local Government Area were inconsistent due to the volatile security situation and limited access to affected areas.
Gov. Alia
It, however, said the ongoing rescue and recovery operations were expected to provide more accurate figures.
NEMA said, “Multiple coordinated attacks by unidentified gunmen have targeted various communities across Benue State. The most recent incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday at Yelewata community in Guma Local Government Area.
“Casualty figures remain inconsistent due to the volatile security situation and limited access to affected areas. Ongoing rescue and recovery operations are expected to provide more accurate figures.
“Following a distress alert, the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were deployed to the scene. Tragically, two soldiers and one NSCDC officer lost their lives in an ambush while responding to the incident in Daudu.”
It further added that it was collaborating with other local and international agencies to coordinate relief activities for those affected at a newly established Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp at the Makurdi International Market.
It disclosed that while dozens sustained injuries in the recent attack, with 46 individuals taken to hospitals, 20 later succumbed to their injuries at the hospital.
The agency added, “Medical teams have called for urgent blood donations to support critical care efforts.
“The Benue State Police Command has confirmed the attack and reported that some of the assailants were neutralised during an exchange of gunfire.
“Meanwhile, efforts to support displaced populations are underway. The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), UNHCR, Red Cross, and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) are coordinating relief activities at a newly established Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp at the Makurdi International Market.”
Gunmen, suspected to be herders, attacked the Yelewata community last Saturday, killing scores of residents.
The incident angered youths in the state who staged a protest in Makurdi on Sunday to for an end to the killings.
READ ALSO: VeryDarkMan, Angry Youths Protest, Demand End To Killings In Benue
Youths protesting the killings in Benue
The demonstration later turned rowdy when tear gas canisters were fired.
The killings were also condemned by prominent individuals, including a former vice president and the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar; his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, and the Catholic Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV.
The State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, while condemning the attack on Sunday disclosed that 59 residents were killed in the incident.
While speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, the governor refuted claims that the state did not receive security assistance from the Federal Government.
The Nigerian Union of Journalists has condemned the recent attacks in Yelwata, Benue State, which claimed several lives, saying that such incidents tarnish Nigeria’s image globally.
In a statement on Monday, the NUJ said that the world had been horrified by the killings in the state in the past few days.
“These killings, in Yelwata, Guma local government council, are coming on the heels of other violent tragedies that have led to the gruesome loss of lives. The capacity of incidences such as this to erode public confidence in the nation-state, and negatively impact the international image of Nigeria cannot be overstated,” the statement read in part.
READ ALSO: Expert Blames Benue Killings On Porous Borders, System Failures
While noting that the security of lives and property is the most basic responsibility of the government, the union lamented that this has proven to be a very difficult task for successive governments in the last 15 years.
It wondered how a country that sacrificed the lives of its soldiers to ensure lasting peace abroad, now lacks the will and ability to defend the homestead.
It said, “Nigeria needs her citizens to believe in her capacity to keep them safe and secure. This is the most basic of all enshrined responsibilities of the state.Section 14 (2)(b)of the 1999 Federal Constitution as amended makes an uncompromising declaration on the primary duty of the state to keep her citizens safe.
“Sadly, in the past 15 years, various governments across political lines have struggled ineffectively to fulfill this crucial obligation. As we have maintained in previous lamentations on the killings of our peoples from the North, East, South, and West of our geopolitical space, we refuse to believe that the Nigerian state has lost the ability to protect both her territories and her people.”
The union also said that it refused to believe that a country that sacrificed the lives of her soldiers to ensure lasting peace abroad in Liberia and Sierra Leone now lacked the will and ability to defend the homestead.
The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has directed its members to halt the programming and loading of trucks destined for the Lekki-Epe Corridor from June 16, 2025, in protest against the recently introduced ₦12,500 E-call-up system by the Lagos State Government.
In an internal memo signed by its National President, Billy Gillis-Harry; and the National Secretary, Adedibu Aderibigbe, PETROAN criticised the fee as economically insensitive and far above the ₦2,500 per truck charge earlier proposed by industry stakeholders.
The association maintains that its proposed amount is more realistic in light of prevailing economic challenges.
Despite several engagements with the Lagos State Government and other authorities, PETROAN said no agreement had been reached, prompting the decision to suspend activities along the corridor until a “mutually agreeable resolution” is secured.
The association called on all zonal and state chairmen to enforce the directive and urged members to remain united while consultations with the state government continue. It also emphasized the need for a “fair and sustainable outcome” for industry operators and the public.
The killing of scores of people in Yelewata, Benue State, over the weekend has been linked to porous borders and systemic failures in Nigeria.
The killings have since sparked nationwide concerns over a breakdown of the country’s security architecture.
Speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast show, The Morning Brief on Monday, the Managing Director of Beacon Security & Intelligence Limited, Kabiru Adamu, said the root problem lies in the failure to properly diagnose the challenge, adding that relevant actors should be held accountable.
READ ALSO: 17 Benue LGAs Were Under Siege, FG’s Efforts Reduced It To Three – Gov Alia
Adamu explained that Benue’s location at the intersection of Nasarawa and Taraba, two states grappling with their security troubles and their international border with Cameroon, increases its vulnerability to external threats and foreign intruders.
According to him, public security in Nigeria has become ineffective, as attackers continue to strike communities, killing dozens, and displacing hundreds, without consequence.
“Threat elements come in, they attack, they kill, sometimes over 100 people in one go. They are not arrested, not prosecuted. That deterrence element in our system is not functioning,” he said.
He further identified the presence of multiple violent groups and militiamen in the state. He warned that some of these groups have been co-opted into the public security architecture by politicians for personal but sinister objectives.
“There’s an absence of intelligence. To have 100 people killed in three days and no video, no voice recording, no evidence, we must admit that our public security system is failing,” Adamu emphasised.
He noted that while public security structures exist in Benue, such as the police, military, civil defence, the Department of State Service, and Operation Zenda, many of them are thinly spread, particularly in rural areas.
According to him, some local governments have fewer than 10 security personnel, a trend not unique to Benue but common nationwide.
“Benue may soon have four separate state-level security outfits, including the evolving Forest Security Guards,” he warned, adding that while numbers look adequate on paper, the real problem is accountability.
A public affairs analyst, Nick Agule, has blamed the Nigerian security architecture over the failure to stop the incessant killings in Benue State.
The latest incident over the weekend in Yelewata, a border between Benue and Nasarawa states, claimed the lives of over 50 persons, sparking widespread fear and outrage across the country and beyond.
Agule, who was a guest on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, on Monday, described the situation as tragic and alarming, lamenting the failure of the security operatives to prevent the attacks.
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“There are two aspects to security: one, to prevent attacks using intelligence; and two, to respond effectively when attacks happen. Sadly, neither seems to be happening,” Agule said during the show.
Some of the burnt houses in the Benue attack on April 15, 2025
He questioned how heavily armed attackers could penetrate deep into Nigeria, carry out deadly attacks, and escape without consequences.
“It’s difficult to understand how this happens without any form of timely security response,” he said. “The question then becomes why is the government not going after those killing Nigerians, but is quick to tear gas citizens who are weeping, wailing, and lamenting about the situation?”
Following the attack, President Bola Tinubu directed security chiefs to implement his earlier directive to bring lasting peace and security to Benue State.
In his reaction, Tinubu charged Governor Hyacinth Alia with convening reconciliation meetings and dialogue among the warring parties to end the incessant bloodshed and bring lasting peace and harmonious coexistence between farmers, herders, and communities.
Pope Leo XIV has also condemned the killings in Benue State, describing the incident as a “terrible massacre” in which mostly displaced civilians were murdered with “extreme cruelty”.
