Benue Killings: Renewed Grief As FG Exhumes 105 From Yelewata

By Ikeddy ISIGUZO—

Tears have become commonplace in Benue State. People are killed, brutally murdered, burned, and buried at regular intervals as bandits – primarily Fulani herders – attack communities with an ease enabled by governmental inaction. Sometimes, the frequency of attacks means grief is simply carried from one funeral to the next.

This, too, is becoming normalised. There are also times when people are emotionally exhausted, their sorrow too overwhelming to allow for tears.

What is unacceptable is being forced to mourn the same dead twice, to witness the exhumation of loved ones in a process that further assaults their dignity. Memories they have desperately tried to suppress resurface as the decaying remains of their relatives are unearthed, confirming the reality of their loss.

The search for truth, for further evidence proving the killings in Yelewata in June 2025, took a disturbing turn with the exhumation that began on Tuesday 24 February 2026. One wonders if this exercise is also intended to determine whether enough people were killed to finally provoke a governmental response.

The exhumation was conducted by a federal forensic team in connection with the attack on Yelewata on 13 June 2025. During proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik stated that forensic evidence was necessary to ensure a fair trial for the nine suspects arraigned on 2 February 2026.

Professor Saad Ahmed, from the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), led the team. The Intelligence Response Team, the Presidential Medical Delegation, and the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BENSEMA) provided support for the operation, which brought fresh sorrow to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp near the new international market in Makurdi.

When word reached the camp on Monday, the IDPs were distraught. They initially believed it was a proposal requiring their input and vehemently opposed it, pouring out their grief. “We thought they would let them rest in peace,” some wondered aloud. “What purpose will exhuming them serve? Justice? What justice?”

Yelewata is less than 10 kilometres outside Makurdi, the Benue State capital. Its IDPs live so close to their devastated homes, the sites where the blood of their relatives was spilled with impunity. Their harrowing stories detail how soldiers stationed in their village offered no assistance during the attack, and how police officers, attempting to repel the attackers, ran out of ammunition.

The soldiers refused to intervene, claiming they lacked “orders” to save Yelewata. Such justifications – “no orders to act” or “orders to withdraw” – are sadly familiar. A recent example facilitated the abduction of schoolgirls in Maga, Kebbi State, in November 2025. These orders seem to disregard individuals entirely.

In 2014, then-Governor Gabriel Suswan visited Yelewata to assess the aftermath of an attack. He narrowly escaped with his life when his convoy came under fire. Soldiers accompanying him withdrew moments before the attack, stating they were acting on instructions to do so. Police officers saved the day. Who issued that withdrawal order? The same unanswered question persists today.

IDPs who travelled to Yelewata to witness the exhumation were horrified by the operation. BENSEMA, an agency unable to adequately feed or provide medical care, water, or sanitation to IDPs in Makurdi, was conspicuously active in Yelewata, with an enthusiasm suggesting that exhuming bodies was its primary function.

Unresponsive governments in Abuja and Makurdi consistently fail to act on intelligence preceding these attacks. In 2025, Yelewata residents alerted their Governor to warning signs – the presence of unfamiliar faces and armed youths in the forests – but their concerns were ignored or dismissed.

George Akume, former Governor of Benue State, former Minister, and current Secretary to the Government of the Federation, represented Benue North-West, which includes Yelewata, for eight years as a Senator. Has his position and influence benefited Yelewata? He visited four days after the 2025 attack, on 17 June. Has he spoken about Yelewata since?

Here is an account from someone who witnessed the exhumation: “I went to Yelewata yesterday. They went and removed the bodies of my children and wife,” the survivor of the June 2025 attack said in a phone message to a friend. “Yes, I was there with them. They gave me things to cover my face and nose. Since I came back yesterday, I haven’t been outside. I’m staying indoors. “Yes, I saw the bodies of my family. They first removed my eldest son, Samson, then the other one,” he trailed off, overcome with emotion.

As you read this and move on to other stories, remember that Yelewata is about human beings – the living and the dead. Yelewata represents lives tragically cut short by those who operate above the law. Yelewata embodies the neglect of its people by those in power in Abuja and Makurdi.

The benefits of a federal appointment for Akume are meaningless. Proximity to Makurdi offers no protection or support for the people of Yelewata to return home. When Akume and Governor Hyacinth Alia engage in power struggles over control of Benue State, their concerns are not for Yelewata and other communities ravaged by bandit attacks.

They are focused on securing a second term or determining who will become Governor in 2027. More importantly, they strive to remain in the good graces of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who downplays the genocide in Yelewata as a mere communal clash.

Given their desire to appease the President, how dare they suggest, through any action, that more than a few people were killed in Yelewata? Would even a hint of dissent risk upsetting the President?

The President’s comfort is prioritised over the restoration of normalcy in the lives of the people of Yelewata, whose story vividly illustrates the negligence that the exhumation so poignantly revealed.

When will the living of Yelewata know peace if we cannot even allow their dead to rest?

Finally…

What game are these people playing? Are we rewarding those who manipulate elections with titles like “master of the game” and “strategist”? Is there anything more disheartening than the oppressed admiring the tactics of their oppressors?

PETER Obi was shot at in Benin City, and some of the responses I’ve heard are deeply concerning. The questions – What was he doing in Benin City? Why can’t he stay in one place? Why doesn’t he use a bullet-proof vehicle? – are entirely misplaced. The questions should be: Who shot at Peter Obi’s vehicle, and who ordered them to do so? When will the police make an arrest?

UNEXPECTED chaos has arisen regarding the potential retirement of officers following the unexpected departure of Dr. Kayode Egbetokun as Inspector-General of Police. The records of the Nigerian Police regarding officer seniority appear unclear, with conflicting interpretations used to justify the potential retirement of 29 officers.

*ISIGUZ0 is a major commentator on minor issues