Destruction on a loop
Aftermath of a community attack in Benue State, Nigeria
June 13, 2025: A brutal and unprovoked attack shattered the early morning peace of the villagers in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
Armed assailants descended upon the rural community of Yelewata in the quiet hours last Friday. The rampaging mob set houses on fire, killing hundreds of people, transforming thousands of innocent lives with bullets and arson, leaving a trail of destruction and unimaginable loss.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of horror and chaos as families scrambled for safety.
We were sleeping when we heard gunshots. I grabbed my children and ran to the roof. In my compound about 22 persons fled but not everyone made it.
We are farmers and all our millet, beans and other harvests were burnt to ashes. My neighbour’s daughter, only five years old, was among those that were burnt.
Official reports estimate at least two hundred dead, with dozens more injured or displaced. Among the victims were a disproportionate number of women and children, many of whom were either caught in the crossfire or unable to flee in time.
This attack resonates as it repeats, shattering lives, especially of helpless women and children, caught in this violent loop.
The survivors have sought refuge at the temporary shelter opened by the government of Benue State, for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Makurdi. With no home to return to, and their source of livelihood destroyed, their futures remain uncertain.
First, Responders to this carnage UNICEF teams pooled in all available resources with local government agencies such as State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and other development organizations.
Initial responses from the site indicate that hundreds of women and children remain deeply traumatized, some separated from their parents, others psychologically unstable, suffering from untreated wounds with skin lacerations and burns.
Many of the women at the treatment center set up through support from UNICEF inside the IDPs camp are not only grieving the loss of family members but also terrified of further violence.
I am a farmer, but after the attack we were relocated here with three of my family members, since then, my heart keeps shaking. I hardly close my eyes or sleep, always afraid and not sure of what will happen next. I have lost access to my farmland and crops, making me very afraid, but the treatment center is giving drugs to make me feel better.
Assessing the immediate needs of the Yelewata people Philemon Majwa, Emergency Manager, from UNICEF Nigeria voiced his concern on the situation at hand, “They have no shelter, no food, no access to healthcare, without WASH facilities and in desperate need of medical and psychological support.”
Community leaders are calling for urgent government intervention to restore security and provide medical support and aid for survivors.
Our people are broken, we need protection, we need justice, and above all, we need to know that our children can sleep safely at night and go back to school someday.
The motives behind the attack remain unclear, though some sources suggest it may be linked to longstanding land disputes or regional tensions. Authorities have yet to make any arrests, fueling fears that such violence could erupt again.
As night falls over the scorched remains of the Yelewata community, survivors are left clinging to one another, hoping for peace in the ruins of their past.
Even as UNICEF and local government agencies work tirelessly to help rebuild these broken lives, with humanitarian aid and psychological support, the situation on ground remains grim.
For the displaced mothers and lost children of Yelewata, huddled in fear of tomorrow at their makeshift camp in Makurdi, the journey back home is going to be a long one.
