Recall, between late Friday and early Saturday, suspected herdsmen attacked Yelewata from two fronts, killing everyone in their path including youths and security agents who tried to fight them off. The herdsmen, in their large numbers, and coordinated attacks, overpowered them.
The attack led to the death of about 200 persons including women, children and young people. Amnesty International reported that toddlers were “locked up and burnt in their bedrooms” during the overnight attack by the herdsmen militia in Yelewata and Daudu communities in Benue State.
The victims include farmers, villagers, internally displaced persons, and others. This incident, one of many in recent times, has led to a protest with Benue people and sympathisers taking the streets to call on the government to protect them and end the killings.
However, the ongoing protest in Makurdi, has been met with Police shooting teargas at protesters to dispel them. As at the time of this report, the Police have arrested 14 protesters. President Bola Tinubu and governor Hyacinth Alia are yet to take decisive actions to check the killings and bring lasting peace in Benue.
