A brutal attack by armed gunmen in the central Nigerian village of Yelwata has left at least 100 people dead, according to Amnesty International, in one of the deadliest incidents this year in the country’s long-running conflict over land and resources.
Among the victims was the family of 37-year-old farmer Fidelis Adidi, who returned to the village on Saturday morning to find the charred remains of his wife and four children. They had been sheltering in a market building to escape the violence. His second wife and another child survived the attack but were left badly injured.
Fideles Adidi points at a picture of his family, who was killed during a deadly gunmen attack in Yelwata, Benue State, Nigeria, June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Marvellous Durowaiye NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
“My body is weak and my heart keeps racing. I lost five of my family members,” Adidi told Reuters, standing beside the scorched ruins of what had been their temporary home.
Burned Lives and Shattered Homes
The attack, which began Friday night under the cover of darkness, left parts of the market in ruins. Burned bodies were found lying among blackened piles of grains and farming tools. In one storehouse, the destruction was almost complete: grains reduced to ash, equipment destroyed, and lives irreparably damaged.
SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB Charred remains of a victim lie inside a building following a deadly gunmen attack in Yelewata, Benue State, Nigeria, June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Marvellous Durowaiye
Market trader Talatu Agauta, who is pregnant with her second child, fled to the state capital Makurdi during the attack. She returned to find 40 bags of her rice burned. Despite the loss, she refuses to abandon her home.
“I came back and even if I die here, I don’t mind,” she said.
3,000 Displaced as Violence Grows
Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency reported that more than 3,000 people have been displaced in the wake of the attack. Aid agencies are now coordinating efforts to deliver food, shelter, and medical assistance.
A man stands in front of a damaged and burnt house following a deadly gunmen attack in Yelwata, Benue State, Nigeria, June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Marvellous Durowaiye
The violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where the mostly Muslim north meets the predominantly Christian south, has been fueled for years by disputes over land, ethnicity, and religion. The region has become a hotspot for deadly clashes between nomadic cattle herders and farming communities.
Tinubu to Visit Benue
President Bola Tinubu called the latest attack “depressing” and is scheduled to visit Benue state on Wednesday, marking his first official trip to the region since taking office two years ago.
Authorities have struggled to contain the recurring violence. Despite security operations and peace efforts, attacks like the one in Yelwata continue to devastate communities and displace thousands.
As the country mourns yet another mass killing, survivors like Adidi and Agauta must now piece their lives back together amid deep personal loss and persistent insecurity.
