• Over 200 villagers massacred in Benue — Amnesty faults FG’s failure
• Tinubu breaks silence, says leaders fuelling killings with “unguarded utterances”
• “It is a failure of leadership” — Obi slams FG as Pope, Amnesty, others condemn massacre
More than 24 hours after armed herders invaded Yelewata community in Guma LGA of Benue State, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has blamed political and community leaders for fuelling the killings through inflammatory comments.
In a statement signed by Mr Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, Mr Tinubu described the mass killings in Benue as “inhuman and anti-progress,” urging key leaders to stop making divisive statements.
The statement reads partly: “This is the time for Governor Hyacinth Alia to act as a statesman and immediately lead the process of dialogue and reconciliation that will bring peace to Benue.
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“Political and community leaders in Benue State must act responsibly and avoid inflammatory utterances that could further increase tensions and killings. ”
He directed security agencies to pursue the killers and bring them to justice, while expressing concern that provocative remarks from local leaders were intensifying violence rather than curbing it.
According to Amnesty International, more than 100 villagers were killed when gunmen stormed Yelewata from late Friday, June 13 to the early hours of Saturday, June 14, 2025. Survivors claim the toll has exceeded 200.
“The horrifying killing of over 100 people by gunmen that invaded Yelewata… shows the security measures government claims to be implementing in the state are not working,” Amnesty said in a Saturday statement.
The group criticised the federal government’s repeated failures to halt the escalating violence, warning that “without immediate action many more lives may be lost.”
Obi Condemns Tinubu’s Inaction, Calls It National Failure
Reacting strongly, Mr Peter Obi, Labour Party chieftain and former presidential candidate, held President Tinubu responsible for what he termed a “systemic breakdown of national protection.”
“Over 200 lives have reportedly been extinguished in a single onslaught, homes burnt, families shattered, communities left in ruin. This is not merely violence. It is a failure of leadership, a stain on our collective conscience.
“We cannot accept the normalisation of mass killing. It is intolerable… When [government] repeatedly fails, we must ask: What kind of nation are we bequeathing to our children?”Obi said.
