Dozens of people were burnt alive and many others shot dead when suspected herdsmen launched a late-night attack on Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
Amnesty International has put the death toll at over 100, describing the incident as one of the deadliest in recent times.
The attack, which occurred between Friday night and the early hours of Saturday, saw the assailants split into two groups—one stormed the police station, while the other moved house to house, killing residents and setting buildings ablaze.
“In this house, 40 people were killed; 35 died in the next one. The police station was attacked too,” a resident said.
A local pharmacist was among the victims. A resident who spoke in a video clip said the brother of the deceased pharmacist lost 15 family members. Several other families were also wiped out, with some losing up to five relatives.
The attackers reportedly destroyed over 200 bags of rice worth around ₦25 million.
Graphic footage of the aftermath shared by social media influencer Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, showed charred remains of children and adults, smouldering homes, and farmland reduced to ashes.
“What my eyes have seen, my mouth cannot speak,” he said in the video. “These are children that were massacred here, burnt to ashes.”
A local resident in the video said, “We were indoors because of the rain. Around 10:45 p.m., we heard gunshots at the police station. Then the second group began entering homes, breaking doors and shooting people.
“There was no help. We thought the government would protect us, but we were left alone. Our community youth tried their best. The attackers didn’t leave until around 2 a.m.”
