The Yelwata community in Central Nigeria’s Benue State was again subjected to attacks on August 11. Three people were killed by Muslim extremist bandits and three more were critically injured in the incident, which came less than two months after the massacre of over 200 persons.
Eyewitnesses said the attacks prompted a protest on the streets by local women demanding the withdrawal of state police tactical troops. The women said the police’s presence in the community has been an ineffective deterrent.
“They should take us to Makurdi [the state capital],” one resident told a local media outlet, “because the government cannot protect us.”
“Despite reassurances from both the national and sub-national [state] governments of Benue State, Nigeria, to end the killings in our community, nothing has changed,” another survivor said.
‘Unimaginable Humanitarian Crisis’
“An unimaginable humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region. My people are incapable of withstanding the unrestrained Fulani killer-herders with sophisticated arms,” Bishop N.N. Inyom told The Living Church.
“Survivors speak of anguish, fear, and severe hunger because they cannot return to their ancestral homes to farm. They speak of a longing, not for vengeance—but for the simple right to live without the shadow of war.”
Inyom confirmed that tactical units from the Benue State Police command were stationed in Yelwata and Udei, another site of past attacks.
Police repelled two attempted invasions by bandits on August 11, but not until after what the Benue State’s official reports called “suspected herdsmen bandits” had killed innocent civilians during their retreat.
“The state and federal security deployments have been maintained, with logistical support from the Inspector General of Police. However, there is no confirmed prosecution of suspects linked to the earlier massacre,” he added.
“This is not merely a story of loss; rather, it is a passionate plea to the global community, the world’s conscience—a call to halt this tide of hatred before it swallows everyone in Yelwata village and its environs.”
2 Million Refugees
The Hon. Gideon Inyom, a local politician, historian, and strategist, also spoke with TLC. Inyom, who is related to the retired bishop, is media coordinator for the Movement Against Fulani Occupation, a local advocacy group.
“These are our people, Internally Displaced Persons, our brothers and sisters, our children, left to sleep under plastic sheets, scavenging for food, and suffering in silence while the world looks away,” he said. “This is not displacement, this is dehumanization, and it is a national emergency.”
He said that over 2 million people across the region have been forced into informal refugee camps.
“Survivors report that many victims were ambushed while farming at the outskirts of Yelwata. They were attacked before security forces could intercept the bandits. Some residents say their communities remain unsafe and farms have been abandoned for fear of renewed violence,” he said.
Inyom confirmed that residents began protests on July 30, angered that it is still so unsafe for the few men who survive to work their fields or for families to return to their homes.
He said that protesters are demanding a formal humanitarian emergency declaration for Benue State, and a federal-state humanitarian task force to coordinate safety, relief, and rebuilding efforts. Trauma response units, they say, are also needed to provide food relief, medical services, and effective public safety in the hardest-hit areas.
“Women in Yelwata recently shelved a planned protest after engagement with state officials and security commanders. The Benue State Commissioner of Police has assured residents that ‘this phase too shall soon pass,’” he said.
Coordinated Displacement
Gideon Inyom also said that bandits wielding AK-47s are part of a coordinated campaign by Muslim Fulani, who have historically lived further north and worked as herdsmen, to displace Christian farmers who have lived in these villages for generations.
“There is a well-documented pattern across Benue State: when armed herdsmen bandits attack a community and retreat, the presumed ‘non-violent’ Fulani settlers move in to occupy the land. This is not an isolated allegation, but an observable trend confirmed by local leaders, residents, and security incident reports,” he said.
He said that more than 30 communities in Logo Local Government Area have experienced this kind of land seizure and that several wards of Kwande and Guma Local Government Areas have been occupied by Fulani, some for over 15 years. The sites of the most recent attacks are in Guma Local Government Area.
“Security forces continue to pledge vigilance, but without a clear framework for reclaiming and securing these occupied communities, the humanitarian and territorial losses keep mounting.”
TLC asked government officials for comment several times, but received no response. Gideon Inyom said he wasn’t surprised.
“Critics claim some politicians are soft-pedaling the crisis to safeguard political alliances ahead of the 2027 elections. We can’t afford to play politics with human lives.”
“We are a people of conscience,” he said. “We cannot be silent while people in our community say they would rather be dead than continue like this. We must break the cycle of neglect, denial, and silence. A nation that cannot protect its most vulnerable has lost its moral compass.”
K.C. Nwajei is a freelance journalist based in Nigeria.
