Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has confirmed the killing of 59 people in Yelwata, a border community between Benue and Nasarawa States, following a deadly attack by suspected herdsmen on Friday night.
Addressing journalists at the Government House on Sunday, Governor Alia said the death toll was based on physical headcounts carried out by security operatives in collaboration with families of the victims.
Among those killed, he noted, were members of the Nigerian military and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) who died defending the community.
Alia also commended Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, for his cooperation and intelligence sharing.
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According to him, a woman was also reportedly killed on the Nasarawa side of the border during the same incident.
The governor made the remarks while receiving a report from the panel of inquiry into militia activities in the Sankera axis of the state.
He assured that those named in the report would be investigated and held accountable, adding that restoring peace to the troubled region remains a top priority of his administration.
International condemnation of the attack came from Pope Leo XIV, who during his address before the Sunday Angelus prayer at the Vatican, described the killings as a “terrible massacre” in which mostly displaced civilians were slaughtered with “extreme cruelty.”
The pontiff expressed solidarity with victims and prayed for “security, justice, and peace” to return to Nigeria, with a special appeal for protection of rural Christian communities in Benue.
Meanwhile, outrage over the killings sparked protests in Makurdi on Sunday. Angry youths gathered at the Wurukum Food Basket Roundabout as early as 8 a.m. to demand government action.
The demonstration gained further attention with the presence of popular social media activist, Martin Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan.
Reacting to the situation, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga stated that President Bola Tinubu has ordered security chiefs to immediately implement measures aimed at ending the violence in Benue.
In response, top intelligence officers, the police, and military have been deployed to the state to coordinate operations and restore calm.
