As Benue Bleeds

Communities are shot down in Benue State, killing all aboard. The state popularly referred to as ‘food basket of the nation’ is bleeding, and Nigeria is held spellbound by the harvest of death, conveying a blank horror and reality of war, in contrast to the pageantry of bumper food harvest that once characterised the agrarian state.

While many still refer to the carnage in the Benue communities as killings, it is very obvious that we are witnessing a cold-blooded massacre that is reminiscent of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

For the past ten years, the North Central state has continued to witness a steady rise in killings of innocent citizens by persons whose motive seems to be killing for the fun of it. It became more manifest under the administration of former Governor Gabriel Suswam when the notorious kingpin and ethnic warlord, Terwase Akwaza, also known as Gana, unleashed mayhem on communities until security operatives took him out.

Then came Governor Samuel Ortom. He inherited the killings and failed woefully to address them. Many believe, and perhaps rightly so, that Ortom, whose administration is the worst in the state’s history, used the killings as justification for poor performance.

Of course, the incumbent administration of Fr Hycinth Iornem Alia inherited the killings, and it has – like it was during the previous administration of Ortom – been on an upward trajectory. It is so maddening that from January to date there have been no fewer than 40 attacks in communities across the 18 worst-hit local government areas of the state.

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For instance, there was an attack on Ukum, Logo council area, where about 108 people were reportedly killed, while in Gwer-West and Apa council areas, 77 people were killed. The record of death toll also includes Kwande local government (45), Guma (310), Makurdi (25), Otukpo (35), Katstina Ala (51), Okpokwu (16), Agatu (85), and Ado (26).

The latest killings in Yelwata, Guma council area of the state, where over one hundred persons, including women and children, were killed have underscored the need for a lasting solution to the series of murders, which have continued to question not just the capacity and capability of the Benue State government but the general approach of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to security challenges facing Nigeria.

What happened in Yelwata is disastrous, frightening, and intolerable. How can more than 100 people, the majority of whom are IDPs who already fled their ancestral home in search of safety, be burned alive, butchered, and ambushed in a coordinated night attack in a nation that is not at war?

From January 2025 to date, no fewer than 500 persons have been reportedly killed in the confirmed large-scale, deadly attacks in Benue State. This figure, sadly, is not inclusive of those killed in smaller-scale raids that rarely get reported.

According to Amnesty International (AI), about 2,600 persons, mostly women and children, were killed following attacks on 50 communities in the state between January 2023 and February 2024.

The security situation in the state is precarious. there is at least one IDP camp in 13 of the 23 local government areas in Benue State. The fact that these camps are housing predominantly farmers who should have been in the field to help in addressing the nation’s food security challenge, makes it more concerning. Like most Nigerians, I wonder how many bloodlettings would have to occur before the government takes decisive action.

The killings in Benue impact the nation’s food security drive. The state prides itself as the food basket of the nation. The Benue Valley is undoubtedly the most fertile in the country, and these recurring killings have made it impossible to harness its enormous farming potential effectively. A nation battling food security cannot afford to watch idly while its food production hub is enmeshed in recurring killings.

Sadly, the nation is fiddling while its food production hub burns in a scenario where a massacre happens, public officials visit, security agencies commence an investigation, yet nobody gets arrested, and hence, there is no justice. Because culprits are not served justice, there is always a repeat, and the pattern continues. This must change.

Why have the killings in Benue become so recurring and seemingly intractable? Who are the real faces behind these killings? Has the Nigerian government not failed the victims of the Benue killings? How come Governor Alia has yet to prosecute anyone despite saying repeatedly that Abuja politicians aid these killings? Who are these Abuja politicians accused of complicity?

Both armed herdsmen and some criminal elements in the state are responsible for the recurring Benue killings. While armed herdsmen have continued their sustained attacks on the predominantly farming communities, politicians have also exacerbated the situation by arming some local bandits who also indulge in indiscriminate killings of supposed political rivals.

It is disheartening that Benue, the Nation’s Food Basket, is fast becoming a killing field where communities are razed, families wiped out, and entire villages turned into graveyards. How come the nation watches idly as innocent citizens are being killed like chickens while the government carry on in a pattern of response that reeks of indifference? Sadly, while Benue people dig graves to bury their dead, the political class is busy with the campaign for 2027.

Two people- Governor Alia and George Akume- are in the eye of the storm, and rightly so, as Benue continue to record massive, senseless and utterly unprovoked killings that have become a recurring decimal. Don’t get it twisted. Nigeria and Nigerians look up to the two leaders as Benue burns, not only because one is the chief security officer while the other is the most senior public figure from the state.

It is also because of the political animosity between the two. Don’t mind efforts by their cronies to downplay their lack of love. It is real; it exists and, to a certain extent, has a bearing on what is happening in Benue State.

However, most Nigerians should be concerned about why the government seemed unconcerned. How come, despite the expenditure on intelligence, the government has yet to gather actionable information about the activities of those behind these recurring killings?

In Benue, two things are frightening: the frequency of these gory attacks, and the seeming normalisation of the carnage. We have become a nation of people who feel sorrow, mourn and move on without necessarily asking why people are being killed unprovoked.

What can and must be done to end it? While the nation can and always moves on, the families who lost loved ones rarely move on, as they have to contend with the trauma of these attacks. They also live with the betrayal of a nation and its leadership that doesn’t care about their plight.

But the killings in Benue are a reflection of the wanton loss of lives which occur in different parts of the country. A Global Index report on terrorism shows Nigeria has risen to sixth position in global terrorism, with a score of 7.658. The 2025 report, released in March, showed that Nigeria recorded 565 terrorism-related deaths in 2024.

The report further explained that IS-Sahel has expanded its reach beyond its primary area of operation in the Liptako-Gourma region, which spans the borders of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria.

“Terrorism remains a persistent global threat, with 2024 marking another year of shifting patterns and evolving challenges. More countries experienced a deterioration in security, with 45 reporting an increased impact from terrorism. At the same time, only 34 saw improvements—the first time in seven years that more nations worsened than improved,” the report added.

Reports like these underscore the need to overhaul the nation’s security architecture. The government must do all it takes to end the killings in Benue and other parts of the country by first bringing perpetrators of Yelwata killings to justice. And the time is now.