The people of Yelewata, a quiet farming settlement nestled at the tail end of Benue State along the Abuja-Makurdi highway, will forever remember June 13–14, 2025—not merely as a date on the calendar, but as the darkest chapter in their history.
In the still hours of that harrowing Friday night into Saturday morning, the town was jolted awake by the crackle of gunfire, the eerie glow of burning homes and stores, and the blood-curdling screams of children and families under siege. Eyewitnesses recount scenes too gruesome to forget—suspected armed herdsmen stormed the community, unleashing unimaginable terror. Children were hacked, shot, or burnt alive. Families were wiped out. Livelihoods were destroyed in minutes.
