Tinubu Confirms 'No Arrest Made' Over 100 Killed In Benue

osazuwaakonedo

Tinubu Confirms 'No Arrest Made' Over 100 Killed In Benue https://osazuwaakonedo.news/tinubu-confirms-no-arrest-made-over-100-killed-in-benue/19/06/2025/ #Issues #Benue #Dauda #Tinubu #Yelewata ©June 19th, 2025 ®June 19, 2025 8:11 pm Almost one week after gunmen locked people; including children, women and elderly inside their rooms, macheted them, poured petrol on them and set them ablaze at Yelewata community in Guma local government area of Benue State last Friday night, Nigeria President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday at a town hall meeting in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, confirmed that Nigeria security operatives have made no arrest since the incident occurred while apparently taking advantage of the ceremonial like town hall meeting to query the Inspector General of Nigeria Police Force, Kayode Egbetokun and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa for not making arrest ever since the incident occurred, with the Presidency in a press statement on Wednesday confirming that 100 people were killed in the attack but local media and residents stated that more than 200 people were sent to their early grave during the attack, this, Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications after visiting the Yelewata community a day ahead of the president visit to Makurdi, was seen in one of the photographs with a caption “Wednesday: Yelewata Village Market that was attacked. A walk through. President Tinubu, Commander In Chief arrives Makurdi” posted on his personal verified X social media handle, apparently covering his nose with a thick handkerchief probably following the unpleasant condition of the environs that he could no longer endured the odours or stench emitting in the environment as a result of the mass murder, with the two time former governor of the state, and Senator that once represented Benue North West Senatorial District which Yelewata is inclusive, and the current Secretary to the Government of Federation in Nigeria, George Akume saying that on Tuesday when he visited the crime scene, the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, BSUTH  and the camp where the Internally Displaced People are currently taking refuge, survivors from the attack spoke to him through tears and after watching some of them at the hospital beds battling for their lives, the SGF said “The Pain Is Raw”. #OsazuwaAkonedo

Transcript

00:00Almost one week after gunmen locked people, including children, women and elderly inside their rooms,

00:06macketed them, poured petrol on them and set them ablaze at Yelawata community in Gama local government area of Benue State.

00:15Last Friday night, Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Talubu on Wednesday at a town hall meeting in Makurdi,

00:22the Benue State capital, confirmed that Nigeria security operatives have made no arrests since the incident occurred

00:29while apparently taking advantage of the ceremonial-like town hall meeting to query the Inspector General of Nigeria Police Force,

00:38Kayao Degbetokan and the Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Moussa for not making arrests ever since the incident occurred,

00:45with the Presidency in a press statement on Wednesday confirming that 100 people were killed in the attack

00:51but local media and residents stated that more than 200 people were sent to their early grave during the attack.

00:58This, Sunday Dare, Special Advisor to the President on Media and Public Communications

01:04after visiting the Yelawata community a day ahead of the President's visit to Makurdi,

01:09was seen in one of the photographs with a caption,

01:12Wednesday, Yelawata Village Market that was attacked.

01:16A walk-through, President Tanubu, Commander-in-Chief arrives Makurdi,

01:21posted on his personal verified ex-social media handle,

01:25apparently covering his nose with a thick handkerchief probably following the unpleasant condition of the environs

01:31that he could no longer endure the odors or stench emitting in the environment as a result of the mass murder,

01:38with the two-time former Governor of the State,

01:41and Senator that once represented Benue Northwest Senatorial District which Yelawata is inclusive,

01:46and the current Secretary to the Government of Federation in Nigeria,

01:51George Okun saying that on Tuesday when he visited the crime scene,

01:55the Benue State University Teaching Hospital,

01:58BSUTH and the camp where the internally displaced people are currently taking refuge,

02:03survivors from the attack spoke to him through tears

02:06and after watching some of them at the hospital beds battling for their lives,

02:11the SGF said,

02:12the pain is raw.

02:14On Thursday afternoon, reports from Yelawata indicated that victims of the attack camped at the international market

02:20have blocked the road in protest over alleged poor food supply,

02:25also accusing government officials of mismanaging relief materials meant for them.

02:30At the town hall meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tanubu,

02:34the paramount ruler of the Tib tribe,

02:36taught Tib James Francis Hayat's challenge what he described as dangerous misrepresentations

02:41of the Benue crisis.

02:43It's not herders-farmers clashes,

02:45not communal clashes or reprisal attacks.

02:49It is a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion

02:53and land-grabbing campaign by herder terrorists and bandits,

02:57the traditional ruler stated.

02:59He warned that the mislabeling of the crisis had fueled dangerous policy prescriptions.

03:05Wrong diagnosis will always lead to wrong treatment.

03:08This is war, the monarch declared,

03:11describing the attacks as a decades-long campaign against the Tib and Adoma people.

03:16According to People's Gazette News Media,

03:18about 100 persons including toddlers were

03:21locked up and burnt in their bedrooms

03:23in an overnight attack by suspected herdsmen in Yelawata and Daudu communities in Benue State,

03:29Amnesty International claimed in a statement on Saturday.

03:33Community leader, Matthew M. N. Yan put the death toll at 200,

03:38noting that the number of wounded people exceeded 40.

03:42Children's throats were slit,

03:43and petrol was poured on some residents before the attackers set them ablaze,

03:48said Mr. M. N. Yan who is among the community leaders in Yelawata

03:52and previously worked as acting chairman of the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board.

03:57The suspected herdsmen attacked Yelawata from two ends between late Friday and early Saturday,

04:04killing everyone in their path including youths and security agents who tried to fend them off.

04:10The herdsmen, in their large numbers and coordinated attacks, overpowered them.

04:15Mr. M. N. Yan said the herders attacked the communities around 11 p.m. on Friday

04:20from the western part and met fierce resistance from the youth and other security agents.

04:25He explained that another group of herdsmen attacked Yelawata from the eastern part

04:31and overpowered the youth before launching the attacks on the residents,

04:35most of whom were internally displaced persons from other parts of the state

04:38who sought refuge in market stalls due to their proximity to police stations.

04:44They killed our people, poured petrol on the stalls in the market and burned them,

04:49Mr. M. N. Yan said.

04:50In those stalls, we had people who moved from places such as Branch Uday and people displaced

04:56from nearby villages, who slept in them because of the proximity of the police and soldiers there.

05:02And we learned no soldier came out to defend the people.

05:05The community leader said the death scenes were gruesome as families of 12 and 15 were burned

05:11beyond recognition.

05:11As of now, from the names they are putting together, and the number of families and people

05:17that were burned and killed are running to over 200 now.

05:21They killed and burned people in the houses.

05:24They will pour petrol and burn the whole place where people were sleeping.

05:28We had a family of 15, some families of 12, men with their two wives, children and every one of them burned.

05:35It is a terrible sight, said the community leader, Punch newspaper in a report on Thursday

05:42citing News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, stated that, the Benue State Coordinator of National

05:48Youth Service Corps, Mrs. Veronica Garber, said that Corps members in crisis areas have

05:54been evacuated into family houses in McCurdy.

05:57Garber made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Winune,

06:02Taka local government area of Benue.

06:06The coordinator said that as soon as they heard about the crisis, the management communicated

06:11with the police who evacuated the Corps members from both Yelawata and Daudu areas.

06:17Garber said the Corps members were instantly settled at their family houses, including offices

06:22of the Nigeria Corpus Christian Fellowship, National Association of Catholic Corps Members, and

06:28Muslim Corpus Association of Nigeria.

06:30We do not joke with the safety of our Corps members because we take them as our children

06:35so as soon as we heard about the crisis, we contacted the Commissioner of Police who

06:40detailed his offices to help us evacuate our Corps members.

06:44We then did our head count and none was missing so we arranged with the heads of all the family

06:49houses and got them settled in McCurdy for now pending when the situation will improve,

06:54she said. She urged parents to be calm, saying that their children were safe. The coordinator

07:01also assured parents that with the relocation of security chiefs to Benue, the situation would

07:07improve. I am sure that the parents of our Corps members have heard that all the security chiefs

07:13have moved to Benue, so they have no reason to fear. Above all, God, who is the safest security

07:19is everywhere. He is with your children too," Garber said.

07:25Bayo Onanugu, the Special Advisor to the President on Information and Strategy in a news release

07:30on Wednesday stated that, President Bola Tanubu has directed the Inspector General of Police,

07:36Kayo Degbetokan, and the Chief of Defense Staff, Christopher Moussa, to immediately arrest killer

07:42herders who perpetrated the heinous killing of over 100 people in Yelawata community in

07:47Benue State. President Tanubu gave the directive while addressing stakeholders at the government

07:53house. Markudi, the meeting included the Secretary to the Federal Government, Georgia Kuhn, traditional

08:00rulers, and former governors of the state. The governors of Kwara, Aimo, Kogi, Plato, Ondo,

08:08and Nasarawa also attended the meeting. President Tanubu called out the Inspector General of Police

08:14to know why arrests have not been made. How come no one has been arrested for committing

08:20this heinous crime in Yelawata? Inspector General of Police, where are the arrests? The criminals

08:26must be arrested immediately, President Tanubu said. He urged the heads of the Department of State

08:32Services, DSS, and the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, to intensify surveillance and gather

08:38actionable intelligence to apprehend the perpetrators. He told the Chief of Defense Staff, General

08:45Christopher Moussa, of the need for vigilance and collaboration between communities and security

08:50forces. Advising Benue State Governor, Hyacinth, Aliyah on the importance of stakeholder management

08:57for peaceful and progressive governance, the President urged the Governor to set up a peace

09:02committee in the state that will include former governors of Benue, elders, traditional rulers,

09:08federal government officials, and non-Indigenes living in the state.

09:12Let us meet again in Abuja. Let's fashion out a framework for lasting peace. I am ready to invest

09:19in that peace. I assure you, we will find peace. We will convert this tragedy into prosperity,

09:25he said. President Tanubu urged Governor Hyacinth Aliyah of Benue State to allocate land for ranching

09:32and directed the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security to follow up. He called for blood

09:38donations to support the injured receiving treatment at the Benue State Teaching Hospital,

09:43where he had earlier visited victims and medical staff. While underscoring the importance of peace for

09:49sustainable development, President Tanubu implored the Governor to ensure Benue is peaceful, adding

09:55that the circumstances of his visit this time should not have been a reason to visit. I wanted to come

10:01here to commission projects, to reassure you of hope and prosperity, not to see gloomy faces.

10:07But peace is vital to development, he said. The value of human life is greater than that of a cow.

10:13We were elected to govern, not to bury people, he stressed. He charged Governor Hyacinth Aliyah with

10:20working with the federal government to restore peace. Governor Hyacinth Aliyah, you were elected

10:25under the progressive banner to ensure peace, stability, and progress. You were not elected to

10:31bury people or comfort widows and orphans. We will work with you to achieve that peace. You must also work

10:38with us. Not everyone will like you in politics. They hate me, too, like hell. But here I am,

10:46still your president. I made a promise to protect democracy, freedom, and prosperity, even for my

10:53abuses and accuses. That's leadership, the president emphasized. In his remarks, Governor Hyacinth Aliyah

11:01appealed to the federal government to establish a special intervention fund for communities affected by

11:06repeated violent attacks across Benue State. Your Excellency, while we continue to mourn our losses

11:13and rebuild from the ashes of pain, we humbly urge the federal government to consider establishing a

11:18special intervention fund for communities affected by these incessant attacks in Benue State, he said.

11:25Governor Hyacinth Aliyah said the fund would support the rehabilitation of displaced persons,

11:30reconstruction of destroyed homes and infrastructure, and the restoration of livelihoods, especially for

11:36farmers. He reiterated his support for establishing state police as a lasting solution to insecurity.

11:44The governor pledged his administration's full commitment to building a safe, stable,

11:49prosperous Benue State. Also speaking at the meeting, the chairman of the Benue State traditional

11:55council, Tautiv, or Chivari Professor James Ayats, praised President Tanubu for being the first sitting

12:03president to personally visit victims in the hospital in the wake of such a tragedy. He thanked the

12:08president for appointing notable Benue indigenes into key positions, including the secretary to the

12:14government of the federation and the minister of water resources and sanitation, Professor Joseph Utsev,

12:20while expressing hope that more appointments would follow. On the recurring spate of insecurity in the

12:26state, the monarch took time to address misinformation and mischaracterization, saying that land grabbing is at the

12:32core of the decades-long conflict. Your Excellency, it is not herder-farmer clashes. It is not communal

12:40clashes. It is not reprisal attacks or skirmishes. What we are dealing with here in Benue is a calculated,

12:47well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land grabbing campaign by herder terrorists and bandits.

12:54He cautioned that mischaracterizing the crisis had led to inadequate responses and accused some political

13:00actors of exploiting the situation for selfish gain. We hear that some politicians would even prefer that

13:06the crisis worsens, so it would serve as a basis for declaring a state of emergency. This is unfortunate.

13:14Any politician who prays for more people to die for such a project is working against the wishes of

13:19the people of Benue state, he said. He therefore appealed to President Tanubu to restore peace to the

13:26state and every part of Nigeria. All we ask of you, sir, is to stop our weeping. Give us peace in Benue

13:34state, so our people, primarily farmers, can return to their farms and continue to produce food for

13:40Nigeria. I heard a story about a challenge in a place in Kwara state, and you rose and gave them

13:47peace in Kiama. You can do that for Benue. Days before the President visit, Bayo Onanuga had stated in

13:54a press release that, President Bola Tanubu has directed security chiefs to implement his earlier

14:00directive to bring lasting peace and security to Benue state. President Tanubu renewed his order in the

14:07wake of the latest round of reprisal attacks that led to the death of many people. On the President's

14:13directive, intelligence chiefs, the police and the military have arrived in the state to direct security

14:19operations and restore sanity. President Tanubu has equally charged the governor of Benue state with

14:25convening reconciliation meetings and dialogue among the warring parties to end the incessant bloodshed

14:31and bring lasting peace and harmonious coexistence between farmers, herders, and communities.

14:38Describing the killings and bloodletting as inhuman and anti-progress, President Tanubu called on

14:43political leaders and community leaders in conflict areas to stop fueling the crisis through unguarded

14:49utterances and statements that could further inflame tensions. They should also rein in those

14:54who go out to cause provocations and ignite reprisal attacks. The latest news of wanton killings in

15:01Benue state is very depressing. We must not allow this bloodletting to continue unabated. Enough is now

15:08enough. I have directed the security agencies to act decisively and arrest perpetrators of these evil

15:14acts on all sides of the conflict and prosecute them. Political and community leaders in Benue

15:20state must act responsibly and avoid inflammatory utterances that could further increase tensions

15:26and killings. This is the time for Governor Alia to act as a statesman and immediately lead the process

15:32of dialogue and reconciliation that will bring peace to Benue. Our people must live in peace,

15:38and it is possible when leaders across the divides work together in harmony and differences are

15:43identified and addressed with fairness, openness and justice. Senator George Akum, Secretary to the

15:50Government of the Federation said in a statement issued via his social media handle and stated that,

15:55I returned home, ahead of President Bola Ahmed Tanubu's condolence visit to Benue, weighed down by the

16:02grief of the Yelawata killings. I was at the sites of the attack, met survivors who spoke through tears,

16:09and visited those fighting for their lives at BSUTH. The pain is raw, the sorrow is deep, at the Market

16:16IDP camp, I met families still reeling from loss, displaced, grieving, and living in difficult conditions.

16:24Their resilience moved me deeply. This crisis has gone on too long. No one deserves to live in fear

16:32or uncertainty in their own homeland. This really hurts. I brought Mr. President's heartfelt condolences

16:39to the people and the FG's commitment to end this pogrom. But I also bring my personal vow to I will

16:46not abandon my own. I will stand with you and we will not rest till our homesteads are secure and peace

16:52returns to our lands. We have reported that the Benue State Governor, Rev. Father Hyacinth Law Mammalia

16:59has confirmed the killing of 23 persons by herdsmen who invaded the Naka community and other communities

17:06in ARPA and GW of West local government areas on Sunday. How come no arrest has been made?

17:13How come no arrest has been made?

17:15I expect there should be arrests of those criminals.

17:29Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I want your comments. I know you are, you can't be tired of staying in the bush.

17:38Thank you very much. I want your comments. I know you are, you can't be tired of staying in the bush.

17:46I know you are, you can't be tired of staying in the bush. And although you are, you are, you are,

18:05thank all of you. But we need to keep our ears to the ground. Let's get those criminals.

18:15Let's get them out.

18:16Let's get them out.

18:21So, DGNIA and DGSSS,

18:36let's get them out.

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