A brutal overnight assault by suspected herdsmen on Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State has left families shattered, with reports indicating that over 100 people lost their lives in the attack that spanned late Friday night, June 13, into the early hours of Saturday, June 14.
Some unconfirmed sources claim the death toll may be as high as 200.
Among the hardest hit is Prince Aondona Isaka Ornguga, a former Senior Special Assistant to ex-Governor Samuel Ortom, who confirmed that he lost 23 members of his extended maternal family in the massacre.
Initially reporting over 15 losses, Ornguga later disclosed that the death toll within his lineage had risen to 23.
“I spoke with Victor Utim and Mathew Iormba just three weeks ago,” he said. “Victor had just written JAMB, and we were trying to secure university admission for him. Mathew was a young pharmacist full of dreams. Now, both are gone.”
Another victim, Tsegba Gbam Ayua, narrated his personal tragedy. Displaced from Ayua village in Nasarawa State, he had sought refuge with his wife and four children in Yelwata.
He was away in Nasarawa doing menial jobs when he got the call about the attack.
“I rushed back early Saturday morning only to discover that my wife and four children had been burned alive inside the market stalls where they were sleeping,” Ayua recounted. “I buried them that same day. I don’t know how to live with this pain.”
Survivor Mama Victoria Tyobee also shared her narrow escape:
“Gunshots woke me around midnight. I looked out the window and saw one of the gunmen standing by my house. Moments later, gunfire erupted everywhere. Somehow, I managed to flee. But three of my relatives were killed.”
The attack has triggered renewed calls for government intervention and security reinforcement in Benue communities frequently plagued by violence.
