Nigeria witnesses one of its deadliest attacks in 2025

Over 100 were killed in Benue Square, Nigeria, while many more are missing

Originally published on Global Voices

Screenshot of protesters holding a placard decrying the recent killings. From YouTube video, ‘Very Dark Man, Other Angry Youths Protest In Benue, Demand End To Killings’ by Channels Television. Fair use.

Gunmen, suspected to be armed herders, stormed Yelewata and Daudu communities in central Nigeria’s Guma Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State late on Friday, June 13, opening fire and setting homes ablaze. At least 100 people, including Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and five security personnel, were reportedly killed, while many remain missing.

According to the Vanguard newspaper, the residents were said to have received advance warnings of impending attacks by the marauding fighters.

A familiar pattern of bloodshed

Benue has long been a frontline in Nigeria’s farmer‑herder conflicts. Over the past decade, hundreds of lives have been lost to such attacks, particularly in Guma, Logo, and Agatu Local Government Areas.

Tensions often surface when herders graze cattle on farmlands — a practice herders trace back to a 1965 law, while farming communities continue to call for protection of their crops and land.

In April 2022, over 25 civilians were killed in coordinated attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen across Guma LGA. Just this year, between February and May 2025, over 150 fatalities were recorded in Guma, Logo, and Ukum LGAs. A separate incident in Gwer West on May 25 claimed at least 20 more lives.

Map of Nigeria's Benue State. Image by Uwe Dedering, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Impact of the attacks

Despite repeated military operations in Nigeria’s North Central region, these attacks have persisted, fuelling a humanitarian crisis and widespread insecurity.

The Nigerian police confirmed the attack on Yelewata and Daudu, though officials have yet to release the final casualty figures. In a video posted on YouTube following the massacre, police said they were working to restore peace in the region. The same video, however, showed officers firing tear gas at protesters demanding justice and accountability for the Benue killings.

These recurring attacks have led to mass displacement, with many residents forced into IDP camps across the state. Benue, often referred to as “the food basket of the nation,” is seeing its critical agricultural productivity plummet under the weight of violence.

A recent study found that every 1 percent uptick in violence corresponds to a 0.21 percent decline in crop production and a 0.31 percent decline in livestock output. The humanitarian cost is not only eroding livelihoods but also deepening food insecurity across Nigeria.

Reactions of some social media users

Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia condemned the assault, calling it an “unnecessary bloodbath.” In a statement shared on X, he said that emergency teams had been dispatched to assist the victims

Meanwhile, Nigerian social media has erupted in anger and grief. Many Nigerians have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to decry what they describe as the federal government’s muted response to one of the deadliest massacres in recent years. One user noted: 

India lost over 200 people in a plane crash, their president was up and running visiti g the scene.

Benue lost over 200 people to a foreseeable circumstance, a repetitive occurrence, a massacre, yet the state government and FG are mute. I doubt Nigeria was ever in God's plan.

— Lola Okunrin (@lollypeezle) June 15, 2025 

Another user questioned:

Why is President Tinubu silent about the mass killings in Benue State? Over 200 lives lost in one night and the Nigerian military is silent.

While another said:

VDM flew to Benue before Tinubu.
The Pope spoke about Benue before Tinubu.

How can 200 human beings be slaughtered and burnt to death in Benue- and the Pope who lives in Rome spoke about the victims before the president of Nigeria?

What kind of a lunatic leadership is this???

— #OurFavOnlineDoc (@OurFavOnlineDoc) June 15, 2025

As of June 16, “200 Nigerians” is trending on X.

Former Nigerian Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has also called for stronger community policing and swift accountability.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV offered prayers for the victims of what he described as a “terrible massacre” in Benue State, Nigeria.

Speaking during his Sunday Angelus prayer, the pontiff said most of the victims were internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had sought shelter at a local Catholic mission in the area, making the attack even more horrifying.

“I am praying for security, justice, and peace in Nigeria,” Pope Leo said from St. Peter’s Square.

With the recent Benue killings reflecting a devastating pattern of unresolved tensions and the state’s inability to protect its most vulnerable citizens, what’s at stake for Nigeria is not just peace, but the very idea of a shared future.