YELEWATA, Nigeria — The death toll from a brutal weekend attack by gunmen on a village in north-central Nigeria has climbed to at least 150, according to survivors, as grieving families continue to recover charred remains and search for the missing amid burned-out homes and destroyed farmlands.
The assault unfolded late Friday in Yelewata, a farming community in Benue State, where assailants stormed the village under cover of darkness, opening fire on sleeping residents and setting shelters ablaze. Dozens of victims had been seeking refuge in a local market after escaping earlier violence elsewhere in the region.
“Everything is gone,” said Titus Tsegba, a resident who lost his wife and four children in the flames. “They were burned into ashes beyond recognition.”
Authorities initially reported 100 deaths, but survivors and local leaders say the toll has sharply risen as more bodies are pulled from the ruins. Many residents remain unaccounted for.
No group has claimed responsibility for the killings, though officials suspect the attackers were armed herdsmen, part of a growing trend of violence tied to long-running disputes between pastoralist groups and farmers over access to land and water.
Benue State has become one of the bloodiest flashpoints in Nigeria’s deepening security crisis, where confrontations between Fulani herders and indigenous farmers have increasingly turned into well-armed assaults on entire communities.
Deputy Governor Sam Ode said he believes herders were behind Friday’s attack and described the scale of destruction as unprecedented.
Survivors described how the attackers surrounded Yelewata, trapping residents inside before unleashing gunfire and setting buildings alight. The gunmen also targeted food warehouses, destroying rice and yam harvests critical to the local economy.
“They were coming from different sides,” said Jacob Psokaa, who lost his father in the raid. “It was sporadic shooting. Many didn’t have a chance to run.”
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, under fire over rising insecurity nationwide, condemned the Yelewata killings as a “senseless bloodletting” and vowed justice. His office confirmed he will visit the devastated community on Wednesday.
“I have directed security agencies to act decisively, arrest perpetrators of these evil acts, and prosecute them,” Tinubu said. “Enough is enough.”
But frustration is mounting in Benue and beyond, as residents accuse federal authorities of failing to halt an epidemic of rural violence. Armed clashes involving herdsmen, extremist groups, and criminal gangs have claimed thousands of lives in recent years, and Nigeria’s Middle Belt remains one of the most unstable regions in the country.
In Yelewata, the grief is overwhelming — and the needs are immediate. Dozens of families have been displaced, left without shelter, food, or security. Humanitarian groups are calling for urgent aid and longer-term conflict resolution efforts.
“This village is now a graveyard,” said one resident. “If nothing is done, this will keep happening.”
The massacre adds to a growing toll of violence in 2025 as Nigeria grapples with overlapping threats from ethnic conflict, insurgency, and criminal activity — with rural communities like Yelewata paying the highest price.
