Makurdi — Outrage continues to mount over the unending wave of killings in Benue State, where armed marauders have intensified attacks on rural communities, leaving hundreds dead and thousands displaced.
The escalating violence has drawn global condemnation, with U.S. President Donald Trump recently threatening to authorize air strikes to halt the reported killings of Christians in parts of Nigeria.
Despite the international attention, the attacks have shown no sign of abating. Security sources and residents say the violence in Benue has no religious undertone, but rather stems from armed herders attacking indigenous communities.
In the aftermath of the Yelewata massacre, which reportedly claimed more than 200 lives, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directed security agencies to end the bloodshed. However, weeks later, the killings have persisted, deepening fears and despair across the state.
Security operatives have also been among the casualties, with several officers reportedly killed while defending communities from heavily armed assailants.
Observers allege the attackers aim to displace indigenous residents from their ancestral lands, fueling fears of a coordinated plan to seize territories in Benue.
In the past one month alone, at least 17 people have been killed in renewed attacks across several communities.
On October 18, armed herdsmen reportedly overran farmlands and homes in the Dyom settlement of Ukum Local Government Area, displacing scores of residents. Nine days later, on October 27, gunmen ambushed a team on stop-and-search duty along the Otukpo–Ohimini axis, killing Abechi Oche, an officer of the Nigeria Forest and Hunters Services, and Inspector Akpan Ogbole of Operation Zenda. Their weapons were allegedly carted away.
On October 28, Kwande Local Government Chairman, Vitalis Neji, narrowly escaped death when his convoy came under heavy fire from suspected herders. Two people were killed in the attack.
The following day, October 29, marauders invaded Mberev Council Ward near the Benue–Taraba border, killing seven residents in an attempt to seize control of the community.
The violence continued on November 1, when Mr. Atindiga Tsebee, a former councillor of Tombo Ward, was ambushed and killed on the Ayilamo–Anyiin road while returning from a security meeting. A member of the State House of Assembly reportedly escaped the attack.
That same day, armed men set ablaze a ₦20 million rice farm at Tse Orbiam in Gwer West LGA, allegedly in retaliation after residents tried to prevent cattle from grazing on the farmland.
On November 3, four people were gruesomely murdered in Anwule community, Oglewu Ward, Ohimini LGA, while several others sustained life-threatening injuries. Barely 24 hours later, on November 4, Thomas Edeh, a local barber, was killed while working on his farm in Rijo community, Ado LGA.
Community leaders say the frequency and brutality of these assaults show that the attackers have become increasingly emboldened despite both local and international outrage.
“Our people no longer sleep with both eyes closed. Every week, someone is killed, and nothing changes,” said a resident of Ukum who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Even as the United States and international rights groups call for stronger action, the killings in Benue continue unabated, plunging the state into mourning and uncertainty.
