“Enough is enough,” Tinubu declares, as Benue State bleeds once again. Over 150 people have been confirmed dead in a wave of brutal attacks by suspected armed herders and militias in several communities across the state, prompting outrage, tears, and renewed calls for action.
The attacks, which escalated over the past week, ravaged Guma, Logo, Ukum, and Agatu LGAs, with survivors recounting horror scenes of night raids, mass killings, and entire households wiped out.
Locals say the killers moved swiftly, torching homes, hacking villagers, and opening fire on crowds trying to flee. Many of the victims were women, children, and the elderly.
By Monday morning, the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) confirmed 150+ deaths and thousands displaced. The killings are being described as one of the worst mass killings in Nigeria this year.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, under rising pressure from human rights groups and religious leaders, finally addressed the tragedy Tuesday morning, describing the attacks as “barbaric, inhumane, and totally unacceptable.”
“We will not fold our arms while innocent Nigerians are slaughtered. Justice will be served. The perpetrators will be hunted down,” Tinubu stated through his media aide.
Security agencies have reportedly been deployed to affected communities, but locals say the response is too slow and too late.
Voices From the Ground: ‘We Are Being Abandoned’
Benue residents are furious, grieving, and scared.
@IdomaVoice on X:
“How many times will our people die before Abuja takes us seriously? This is not a state, it’s a slaughterhouse.”
Pastor Emmanuel Aondofa, whose church compound is now a refugee shelter, told Trending Naija News:
“We’ve buried mothers and babies. This is no longer farmer-herder crisis — this is ethnic cleansing, and Nigeria is watching.”
Human rights groups have warned that the rising death toll in the Middle Belt is being underreported and politically downplayed.
This is not the first time Benue has cried out. From 2018’s New Year’s Day massacre to 2023’s serial attacks, the state has become a symbol of Nigeria’s broken security system.
Tinubu’s vow is loud but Nigerians are now demanding results, not rhetoric.
The big question remains:
Can justice be delivered in a system where victims are buried faster than criminals are caught?