Inside the Yelewata Massacre: How Militants Burned, Butchered 200 Displaced Christians in Benue

In the dead of night on Friday, June 13, militants launched one of the bloodiest attacks in recent Nigerian history, storming a displacement camp in Yelewata, Benue State, and killing up to 200 Christian civilians, including women, children, and infants. The victims were mainly internally displaced persons (IDPs), already forced from their homes by earlier violence. As they slept in makeshift shelters at a market square, the assailants set the buildings ablaze and macheted those who tried to escape, all while chanting “Allahu Akhbar.”

The massacre unfolded near Makurdi, the capital of Benue — a state already reeling from years of violent attacks blamed on suspected armed Fulani herders. Earlier that same night, police had managed to prevent the attackers from breaching St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, where over 700 IDPs were sleeping. But the militants pivoted to the town’s market area, trapping more than 500 sleeping civilians in fire and gunfire.

“People Were Slaughtered” – A Priest’s Eyewitness Account

“I thank God I am alive,” said Fr. Ukuma Jonathan Angbianbee, the parish priest in Yelewata, who narrowly escaped death by dropping to the church floor as bullets flew. Less than 12 hours later, he walked through the massacre scene: “What I saw was truly gruesome. Corpses were scattered everywhere… burned beyond recognition — infants, children, mothers and fathers wiped out.”

The Diocese of Makurdi’s Foundation for Justice, Development and Peace (FJDP) confirmed over 100 deaths initially, later revising the estimate to 200, making it the single worst atrocity in Benue’s recent memory. The FJDP called the scene “an eyesore” and reported that entire families were erased.

Yelewata had been considered a safe zone, lying along the main road to Abuja, and had absorbed thousands of IDPs from earlier attacks. But now, the town is nearly deserted, with survivors fleeing to Daudu, Abagena, and other surrounding villages.

Fr. Jonathan and other clerics insist the attackers were Fulani militants, stating they came in from multiple directions during a heavy downpour to mask their movement — a hallmark of previous attacks. “There is no question about who carried out the attack,” he said. “They were shouting ‘Allahu Akhbar’.”

Security Failure and Federal Silence

Church leaders and locals have criticized the security response, claiming the few police officers on site were under-equipped and could not prevent the horror at the market square. “Where were they when we needed them?” one Makurdi priest asked. “This is by far the worst atrocity we’ve seen. There has been nothing even close.”

The killings come amid a surge of violence in Benue, a predominantly Christian state often at the center of Nigeria’s deadly farmer-herder conflict. Attacks have intensified in Ukum, Logo, and Gwer West LGAs, with over 150 people killed in April and May 2025 alone. Friday’s slaughter only confirms fears that a coordinated campaign of ethnic and religious cleansing is underway.

Global Outcry and Papal Condemnation

On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV condemned the killings during his Angelus message, calling it a “terrible massacre” and mourning those “brutally killed… most of them displaced civilians sheltered by the local Catholic mission.” He prayed for “security, justice and peace in Nigeria,” with a special appeal for rural Christian communities in Benue, whom he called the “relentless victims of violence.”

Governor Alia: “We’re Not Alone”

Amid national outrage and street protests, Governor Hyacinth Alia defended the federal government’s efforts in an interview with Channels TV. He stated that 17 of Benue’s 23 LGAs were once under siege but have now been reduced to three, thanks to federal security deployments.

However, the governor acknowledged the attackers are not necessarily Nigerian. “They don’t speak our Hausa or Fulani. Some come through the Cameroon and Nasarawa borders,” he said, suggesting foreign terror groups may be behind the carnage.

Alia also admitted the possibility of internal collusion, stating, “A thief won’t just come into a community unless there’s someone within.”

A State Under Siege

Once known as the “food basket of the nation,” Benue has now become a killing field. The Yelewata massacre has amplified calls for international intervention and justice. Church leaders argue that the killings are not isolated but part of a deliberate strategy to terrorize and displace Christians in central Nigeria.

The bodies have been buried, the fires have died out — but the anger, fear, and unanswered questions remain. Who will stop the killings? And how many more Yelewatas must burn before the world listens?