Nigerian authorities should urgently strengthen security in vulnerable communities following deadly attacks on June 14, 2025, in Yelewata, Benue state, Human Rights Watch said today. This should include steps to ensure collaboration with members of affected communities to establish an effective rapid security response system to prevent further violence and protect lives at risk.
On the night of June 14, unidentified armed assailants suspected to be tied to herder communities brutally attacked Yelewata community in Benue state, killing 59 people, according to the state governor. However, media reports citing detailed lists of victims put the death toll at over 100.
"This brutal attack is the latest reminder of how badly the government has failed to protect communities from violence and secure accountability," said Anietie Ewang, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The authorities should move quickly and effectively to investigate this attack."
Human Rights Watch interviewed three people, including one journalist who visited Yelewata in the aftermath of the attack.
Benue is among Nigeria's North Central states plagued by recurring intercommunal violence, largely driven by longstanding tensions between nomadic herders and mostly sedentary farming communities over access to and control of land, water, and other natural resources.
In May, 42 people were killed in a series of attacks across Benue state, according to media reports. In April, 56 were reportedly killed by herders during the Easter period. Despite these alarming figures, there is little evidence of meaningful efforts toward justice. Nobody has been arrested or prosecuted for these attacks.
In a 2013 report, "'Leave Everything to God': Accountability for Inter-Communal Violence in Plateau and Kaduna States, Nigeria," Human Rights Watch analyzed the decades-long cycles of violence in two North Central states, Kaduna and Plateau, which persisted largely due to the government's failure to hold attackers accountable. More than a decade later, the continued bloodshed-most recently the attack in Yelewata-underscores the urgent need to end this pattern of impunity.
Reverend Father Yugh, a priest and archivist at the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, the capital of Benue state, told Human Rights Watch that he has tracked violence in the state for many years and that security forces consistently fail to respond effectively, leaving the situation dire.
Based on media reports, attackers arrived in Yelewata just before midnight, armed with sophisticated weapons, and laid siege to the community for over two hours with little or no resistance from security forces. The authorities, however, claim that police officers, tactical teams, and reinforcements responded swiftly and killed some of attackers.
A 34-year-old man, Godwin Amatembe, said his sister and three of her children were killed when the assailants set fire to their one-room home using petrol. Amatembe's nephew who escaped the attack told him that the family was asleep, and when they tried to escape the blaze, the assailants fired on them. The nephew managed to flee despite being shot in the back, but the attackers dragged his wounded mother back into the house, where she burned to death with the three other children.
"I am weak, I am broken, and my heart is bleeding," Amatembe said. "How could my sister and her innocent children, who were just struggling to survive, be wiped out in such a brutal way?"
Based on media reports, some of the people killed in the attack were internally displaced people who had fled to Yelewata from their communities due to insecurity, only to be brutally killed in the very place they had hoped would offer them safety.
The Yelewata attack sparked protests in Benue state on June 15, with calls for an end to the killings and for justice and accountability. The authorities dispersed the protests, which they claimed had been hijacked by violent instigators.
The military and police authorities have announced a joint operation to pursue those responsible for the killings. As President Bola Tinubu engages with affected communities and stakeholders during his announced visit on June 18, he should prioritize regular consultations with local communities to establish a rapid security response system to detect and deter impending attacks and prevent further bloodshed. Without swift and coordinated action, the human toll of the seemingly endless cycles of violence will continue unabated.
"The way forward should begin with coordination of state policing and intelligence operations, as well as community-driven security initiatives that can respond rapidly to threats," Ewang said. "But protection alone is not enough. There must also be justice for the victims of these attacks and accountability for the perpetrators of massacres."
