In a horrifying wave of violence, at least 100 people were killed in Nigeria’s Benue State over the weekend after armed assailants stormed the village of Yelwata under the cover of night. What residents woke up to the next morning was nothing short of devastation — charred bodies, burned-down homes, and shattered lives.
Fidelis Adidi, a 37-year-old farmer, had tried to protect his family by renting a room for them in the local market. But when the attackers arrived late Friday night, they showed no mercy. By dawn, Fidelis returned to a nightmare: his wife and four children were burned alive. His second wife and another child barely survived the attack.
“My body is weak and my heart keeps racing,” Fidelis told Reuters as he stood outside the blackened ruins of what was once a safe haven. “I lost five of my family members.”
Inside the market, piles of scorched grain, destroyed farming equipment, and the blackened remains of victims tell the story of one of the deadliest attacks in recent memory.
Amnesty International has condemned the attack and confirmed the death toll at approximately 100 people. The massacre is part of a larger pattern of violent conflict that has gripped Nigeria’s Middle Belt for years — driven by land disputes between cattle herders and farmers, and fueled further by deep-seated ethnic and religious divisions.
Authorities have long struggled to restore peace in this volatile region. President Bola Tinubu, who described the escalating violence as “depressing,” is scheduled to visit Benue on Wednesday — his first trip to the state since assuming office two years ago.
Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) estimates that more than 3,000 people have been displaced by the recent attacks. Aid agencies are now scrambling to provide relief in a region where the predominantly Christian south meets the mostly Muslim north — a religious and cultural fault line that has seen too much bloodshed.
Among the displaced is Talatu Agauta, a market trader who is pregnant with her second child. She fled Yelwata during the assault and sought refuge in the state capital, Makurdi. When she returned, she found 40 bags of rice — her entire inventory — had been reduced to ash.
“I came back and even if I die here, I don’t mind,” she said defiantly.
Despite government efforts and international concern, the violence continues with little resolution in sight. The cycle of revenge attacks, land grabs, and political inaction has turned communities into battlegrounds — and families into refugees.
As Nigeria reels from yet another tragedy, the people of Benue wait for more than just presidential visits. They wait for justice, for protection, and for a future that doesn’t end in flames.
