Disturbed by incessant killings of innocent and armless citizens of Be ue state,Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi and Benue State Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia have condemned killings of innocent citizens at Yelewata area of the State by suspected criminal herders.

IGP Kayode E

Armed herders had invaded Yelwata and Daudu towns in Guma Local Government Area of the state, killing hundreds of people, including security operatives, between Friday night and Saturday morning.

A Community  leader, Matthew Mnyan, claimed that the death toll could be as high as 200, including five security personnel.

LP former Presidential candidate,Mr Peter Obi

Obi described the mass killings as a direct consequence of leadership failure in Nigeria.

This is just as Pope Leo prayed for the victims of the massacre where around people were brutally killed.

Governor Alia said that more security tactical teams have started arriving in Benue from the Federal Government and additional security deployments are being arranged for vulnerable areas.

Alia also said that Response Squad Teams have been deployed and will be in Benue from Sunday, June 15, 2025 to strategic communities just as dialogues are ongoing to enhance active intelligence sharing.

Governor Alia, who spoke through the Deputy Governor of the state, Mr. Sam Ode, who visited the scene of the heinous act on Sunday, said the Rev Fr Alia is not resting on his oars to ensure the state experience peace.

Ode said; “Governor Hyacinth Alia acknowledges and shares in your pains and grief caused by the attacks on your community by criminal elements suspected to be armed herdsmen.

“The State Government is consistently engaging with Federal security agencies, traditional rulers, community leaders, and relevant stakeholders to strengthen security interventions and provide lasting solutions to these persistent attacks.

“The state’s joint operations units are also being strengthened, and government will not relent in its utmost commitment to defending the lives and properties of all residents.

“In the spirit of peace and unity, we call on religious, traditional, and political leaders across the state to sensitize and guide the youths under their influence against unlawful gatherings or confrontations that may spiral out of control,” the Governor said.

He appealed to the public to make use of official communication channels to report any suspicious activities and to stay informed through credible sources.

He assured that Benue State remains committed to justice, peace, and security for all.

In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Obi expressed heartbreak over the attacks, which claimed the lives of women, children, soldiers, and displaced persons.

He called for an urgent national response, warning against the growing normalization of mass killings in the country.

“My heart is heavy as I learn of yet another horrific series of killings in Benue of women, children, soldiers, and displaced persons, all senselessly slain.

“This tragedy has become too common in our national life, and the Benue situation now calls for a national emergency,” Obi said.

According to the former Anambra State governor, the scale of the killings goes beyond isolated violence and reflects systemic governance failure.

“Over 200 lives have reportedly been extinguished in a single onslaught, homes burnt, families shattered, communities left in ruin. This is not merely violence.

“It is a failure of leadership, a stain on our collective conscience,” Obi stated.

He lamented the continued inability of governments at all levels to perform their primary duty of securing lives and property, saying each loss of life is a deep wound to the nation.

He said, ”Every life lost is a Nigerian life, each one precious, each one irreplaceable. We cannot accept the normalisation of mass killing. It is intolerable.

“The primary duty of any government, federal, state, or local is to protect lives and property.

“When it repeatedly fails, we must ask: What kind of nation are we bequeathing to our children?.”

Obi offered words of solidarity to grieving communities in Benue, assuring them that their suffering is not in vain.

“To the people of Benue, I say: your pain is our pain.

“The blood of your loved ones cries out for justice.

“The survival of our people must not be negotiable; it must be urgent, deliberate, and comprehensive action.”

He also called on authorities to move beyond mere rhetoric and take concrete, decisive steps to protect vulnerable communities

Obi wrote,”To all relevant authorities, I say that the time has come to move beyond symbolic gestures to decisive deployment.

“Let your actions speak louder than visits or statements.

“A safe, secure Benue is not too much to ask,it is our moral duty, our national duty.”

Obi added the current state of insecurity does not reflect the Nigeria that citizens deserve or aspire to live in.

“This is not the Nigeria we deserve, nor the Nigeria we aspire to.

“We must end this bloodshed. We must reclaim our humanity,” Obi stated.

Also, Pope Leo has prayed for the victims of a “terrible massacre” in Benue State, Nigeria where around 200 people were “brutally killed” in Yelwata, in the Guma Local Government Area on the night of the 13th/14th June.

Speaking just before delivering the Sunday Angelus prayer, the Pope said, most of them internally displaced persons “sheltered by the local Catholic mission”.

He prayed for “security, justice, and peace” in Nigeria, adding that he was thinking in particular of the “rural Christian communities of the Benue State who have been relentless victims of violence”.

Responding to the attack, Amnesty International Nigeria on Saturday called on Nigerian authorities to “immediately end the almost daily bloodshed in Benue State and bring the actual perpetrators to justice”.

Meanwhile, hundreds of youths in Benue on Sunday took to the streets to protest the continuous attacks, killings, and displacement of people in the state.

The protesters who converged at the Wurukum Roundabout in Makurdi called on the Federal Government to live up to its responsibility, which is to protect all the citizens within its sovereignty.

They also urged security agencies to redouble their efforts to ensure that all displaced people return to their ancestral homes and continue with their normal lives.

Speaking to newsmen, Mr Brahms Ikuan said the state was under siege for a long time and there were not sufficient efforts for the government to address the menace.

Ikuan regretted that even when they had useful information about the movement of the attackers and reports to authorities, nothing was still done to avert the attacks.

He further accused the authorities of maintaining a conspiratorial silence on the ongoing genocide, adding that Benue may cease to exist if urgent steps are not taken to end the killings.

“We cried, sent messages and opened letters, but nobody listened to us. Nobody came to our aid. At this moment we are not sure if there will be any place called Benue tomorrow.

“Despite the attacks and killings in Yelwata yesterday, up till now, no word from the government or any prominent person. They have abandoned us.

“We want the world to know that Benue is being wiped out on the face of the earth and nobody cares about what is happening,” he said.

Also, Mr Gideon Inyom accused the government of giving the herders unfettered access into the Benue communities by relaxing the state anti-open grazing law.

Inyom said all they wanted was security of lives and property, adding that such was the primary responsibility of every government worldwide.

However, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Emenari Ifeanyi, told newsmen at the scene that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Kayode Egbetokun, has taken over the security of the state.

Ifeanyi said that the IGP has already deployed special forces to the state to end the attacks and killings.

The CP added that security agencies were on top of the situation and urged the youths and Benue people to give the new forces a chance.

“What you saw happening in Yelewata yesterday is because we have taken over Apa, Gwer West, and are moving seriously in Agatu. They just want to do something to show that they are in control while they are not and will never be.

“We are feeling more pains than you. We are here to protect lives and property. We have security everywhere now; even in Yelwata there are tactical teams in the bush even before the attack.

“Give the special forces and tactical teams a room to work. If you prolong your stay here, you are giving the enemies more time to plan.

“We have intelligence reports of their movement, and we are blocking them, and you will see the end result,” he said.

Ifeanyi further disclosed that Governor Alia has given them all the logistics support needed to restore peace in Benue.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a military helicopter was spotted in the sky at Wurukum Roundabout as the protest against herdsmen killings intensified.

NAN further reports that the protesters turned down the Deputy Governor Dr Sam Ode’s request to address them.