Tension has erupted once again in Yelwata community, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, after suspected herdsmen allegedly killed three residents in the early hours of Monday, August 11, 2025.
The attack, which left three others injured, comes barely two months after over 100 people were massacred in the same rural community, sparking renewed fears and outrage.
Locals said the latest victims were from the same family that lost 19 members during the June 13 killings, intensifying the community’s grief.
Angry residents took to the Makurdi–Lafia Highway, blocking traffic for several hours in protest.
The demonstrators displayed the bodies of the deceased on the road, demanding urgent action from the government and security agencies.
One protester, Maria Ihom, said the blockade was a desperate move to draw attention to their plight.
“The military is not doing enough to protect us, that’s why we are here,” she lamented.
Yelwata youth leader, Achii Mathias, told journalists the attack occurred between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m.
He alleged that the assailants might have stayed overnight in the area to strike so early. “They killed three people from the same family that had already lost 19 members in June,”
Mathias noted, adding that the community’s action was a direct response to the repeated violence.
Chief Dennis Gbongbon, President of United Farmers Benue Valley and a resident, confirmed the armed men stormed the area in the morning, leaving the entire community mourning once again.
A military source, speaking off record, claimed troops responded to a distress call and confronted the attackers, but said the killings occurred just outside Yelwata.
Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, in a statement on Monday evening, confirmed the deaths.
She explained that at about 5:00 a.m., suspected armed herders attempted to invade Udei town in Guma LGA but were repelled by police tactical units.
“Unfortunately, when security units pursued them into the forest, they discovered some farmers had already been attacked. Three sustained serious injuries and were taken to Benue State University Teaching Hospital, while three others were confirmed dead,” Edet said.
The June massacre in Yelwata had prompted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to order security agencies to halt the killings and arrest the perpetrators.
However, residents say little has changed.
“We are tired of empty promises. We need real protection, not just statements,” a local farmer told reporters at the protest site.
The latest attack has heightened calls for better security measures in Benue’s rural communities, as locals fear the violence could escalate further.
