Family Loses 23 Members Killed In Fresh Benue Attacks
Tsegba Gbam Ayua is one of many residents reeling from the aftermath of armed invaders’ attack on Yelewata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, which claimed the lives of scores, including his wife and four children.
The grieving husband and father, still struggling to accept the reality of losing his entire family in a single night, expressed fears that he may never recover from the trauma.
“I had been displaced from Ayua in Nasarawa State for over two years and was taking refuge with my family in Yelewata. A few days before the incident, I travelled back to Nasarawa to do menial jobs so I could support my family,” Ayua told our correspondent in Makurdi on Sunday.
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He continued, “Then, around 11 pm on Friday, I got a call that our host community was under attack. I rushed back early Saturday morning, only to find the worst nightmare of my life. My wife and four children had been burned to ashes inside the market stalls where they were sleeping. Over 100 corpses were recovered in the area.”
He said he buried his family the same day and is now struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.
Prince Aondona Isaka Ornguga also spoke on how he lost at least 23 family members in the attack while fighting back emotion to recount the scale of devastation done to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Yelewata, a border rural town of Benue with Nasarawa State.
Ornguga, a former Senior Special Assistant to ex-Governor Samuel Ortom on Local Government Administration, said the 23 victims were all related to him through his maternal lineage.
“I spoke with two of the victims -Victor Utim and Mathew Iormba – about three weeks ago. They are my first cousins from Tse Tarbee, my mother’s village. While Utim just wrote JAMB, and we were working on getting admission for him. Iormba told me he went to check his business around there,” he narrated.
He expressed worry that the victims were killed in the most inhumane manner.
“Iormba was a pharmacist. He had a tall dream, but look at how it all ended for them. And for Utim, this is not what we discussed,” Ornguga lamented.
For Mama Victoria Tyobee, a survivor, she still could not fathom how she escaped from the daredevils.aftermath of attack in yelewata, guma lga of benue state
Tyobee said, “We were sleeping when, about midnight, I heard a gunshot, and looking through the window, I saw one of the attackers with a weapon standing right by my house. As I was wondering what to do next, there were sporadic gunshots, and the man fled into the nearby bushes.
“It was after a while that I mustered the courage to step out of the house. I later discovered that my relatives were not so fortunate. We lost three of them. It’s indeed a very sad experience.”
Apart from these survivors and bereaved families, there are many others with untold stories of the unfortunate incident, which happened on Friday night and spanned into the early hours of Saturday.
At least 107 people were reportedly killed, while many others were injured and are now receiving treatment in htreatmentk
“They burnt people alive – entire families: husbands, wives, and children. It’s already about 107 dead bodies recovered and still counting. Some of the victims had fled previous attacks, only to be slaughtered here,” one resident said.
Multiple sources confirmed that the attackers doused roadside stalls and makeshift shelters with petrol before setting them ablaze.
The victims included IDPs from communities such as Antsa, Dooka, Kadarko, Udei, and Giza, who had sought refuge in Yelewata, believing it to be safer due to the presence of nearby security checkpoints.
A community leader in Yelewata and former acting Chairman of the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Matthew Mnyan, told journalists that, “A single family of 15 was wiped out. Children had their throats slit. Toddlers were killed like animals. It’s heartbreaking.”
Mnyan said the death toll could be over 200, as he noted that they were still taking records of the bodies recovered alongside those who died on the way to receiving medical attention.
Chief Dennis Denen Gbongbon, a prominent farmers’ leader in the area, confirmed that the majority of those killed were Tiv farmers and displaced persons.
“These people were already living on the margins. Now they’ve been reduced to ashes. I saw the bodies- many of them burnt beyond recognition,” he said.
Other witnesses recounted a terrifying two-hour siege that overwhelmed the local youth and police who attempted to resist the attackers.
“They came in two groups. While we tried to hold off those advancing from the west, another group attacked from the east and overran us,” a resident explained.
On the same night, a separate attack was reported in Daudu in the same Guma LGA, about a 20-minute drive from Makurdi, where armed herders reportedly ambushed military personnel responding to an invasion threat.
It was gathered that two soldiers, including a captain, one Civil Defence personnel, making three security operatives, were killed by the armed invaders in the ambush, while a policeman remained missing.
A resident of Daudu, who preferred to be identified as Ikyott, said the timely intervention of the security personnel and youths of the area warded off the attack.
“Our youths and soldiers under Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) mounted a strong resistance, killing some of the attackers. Unfortunately, some security personnel also lost their lives in the process,” Ikyott said.
The Chairman of Guma LGA, Maurice Orwough, confirmed the attack on Channels Television without disclosing the actual number of fatalities, but merely saying that many have been killed, while more than 26 people have been hospitalised.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security and Internal Affairs, Chief Joseph Har, confirmed both incidents to journalists but said full details were still being gathered.
He said, “It’s true. I’m aware of the attacks in Yelewata and Daudu. But I’m not on the ground to give the complete picture yet.”
Similarly, the Benue police spokesperson, DSP Udeme Edet, also confirmed the Yelewata attack, saying tactical teams were deployed and some attackers were neutralised.
“Unfortunately, lives were lost. We are still pursuing the perpetrators,” she stated without giving any figure of casualties, even as at the time of filing this report.
Lt. Zubair Ahmad, the Public Relations Officer of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), has remained mute over the killings of the soldiers and security operatives attached to the special squad.
Police teargas protesters
Meanwhile, the sad incident has provoked a mass protest from various groups, especially youths and civil groups who took to the streets to express their anger, blocking major roads and demanding government action.
The first wave of protests began on Saturday evening in Daudu, where demonstrators blocked the Lafia–Makurdi highway for several hours.
The situation was brought under control after operatives of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), led by Force Commander Major General Moses Gara, intervened and persuaded the protesters to vacate the road to ease the movement of stranded commuters.
However, the protests intensified on Sunday morning as more groups of demonstrators converged at the Wurukum Roundabout in Makurdi, despite a heavy security presence in the city.
Our correspondent observed that as early as 7 am, operatives from the police, Nigerian Army, NSCDC, NDLEA, and other security agencies had been deployed to strategic locations, including the Wurukum junction, where an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) was stationed.
By 9:30 am, the protesters had occupied the Wurukum Roundabout to demand justice for the slain victims, but around 11 am, police operatives fired teargas canisters to disperse the growing crowd.
The development caused a momentary chaos around Wurukum vicinity up to the new bridge linking North Bank metropolis to the city centre, with vehicles shattering glass.
Despite the dispersal, the protest gained renewed momentum as demonstrators regrouped at the T-junction along George Akume Road and other parts of Makurdi, such as Gyado villa on Gboko Road.
They were joined by popular social media activist #VeryDarkMan, who called for justice and accountability.
At the Wurukum protest scene, the Benue State Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, appealed for calm, urging the youths to shelve the protest in light of renewed federal security interventions.
“The Inspector General of Police has taken over the security of Benue State,” Emenari said.
He added, “As I speak to you, the IG has already deployed Special Forces who are on the ground, and more are on the way. These are intelligence-led units. They will go wherever the bandits are and bring them to justice.
“The ones you see here on the ground just arrived last night. The previous sets have been deployed to Naka, Apa, Agatu, Daudu, and Yelewata. We are in control of the situation, so I’m assuring all citizens of the state that we are in control. All the security agencies are with us on this. We have already made some arrests.
“The governor has already given us all the necessary support.”
However, as of press time, protests were still ongoing, with residents calling for lasting solutions to the recurring attacks in the state.
Governor Hyacinth Alia on Sunday condemned the attacks and massacre of innocent citizens at Yelewata by suspected criminal herders, saying nothing should warrant the taking of life.
Alia, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, noted that his deputy, Barr. Sam Ode, who visited the scene of the heinous act earlier Sunday on his directives, delivered the message that he (the governor) is not resting on his oars to ensure the state experiences peace.
“Governor Hyacinth Alia acknowledges and shares in your pains and grief caused by the attacks on your community by criminal elements suspected to be armed herdsmen.
“The state government is consistently engaging with federal security agencies, traditional rulers, community leaders, and relevant stakeholders to strengthen security interventions and provide lasting solutions to these persistent attacks,” the statement reads in part.
Daily Trust
