President Bola Tinubu’s unscheduled visit to Benue State to console grieving communities over the brutal massacre of over 200 innocent citizens will only carry real weight if it results in the identification and prosecution of the perpetrators. These recurring atrocities in Benue and elsewhere have become disturbingly routine, with authorities offering little more than sympathy and hollow promises. What is urgently needed now is genuine, decisive, and sustained action to halt the relentless wave of terrorist and genocidal assaults on vulnerable populations. The criminals responsible must be unmasked and brought to justice. This cycle of bloodshed continues largely because no one is being held accountable.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

On the evening of Friday, June 13, 2025, Benue State once again descended into horror as terrorists unleashed a devastating attack on Yelewata, a town in Guma Local Government Area. The assault, which claimed an estimated 200 lives, was both brutal and calculated. The attackers targeted displaced families sheltering in makeshift accommodations at the Yelewata market square, near the state capital Makurdi. As the victims—mostly women and children—slept, the terrorists set their shelters ablaze and butchered those who tried to escape with machetes.

According to a firsthand account shared with the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the same group of terrorists had earlier attempted to storm St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Yelewata, where around 700 displaced persons were sleeping. The police reportedly repelled that initial assault. However, the attackers later shifted their focus to the market square, where for hours they poured fuel on doors, set them on fire, and opened fire on civilians. It was a massacre of horrifying proportions—an unprovoked onslaught against some of the most vulnerable citizens.

Pope Leo XIV condemned the killings as a “terrible massacre” carried out with “extreme cruelty.” Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, visited the site and described the attack as “madness.” He noted suspicions that informants within the community had tipped off the assailants. Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, described the atrocity as a direct attack on Nigeria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

At the scene, Gen. Musa admitted: “We always receive information that these attackers are coming from across the borders. Wherever they are coming from, we will go after them. We must not wait for them to strike first.” He also announced plans to visit neighbouring Nasarawa State to strengthen cross-border security coordination—a move that many believe should have occurred long before the massacre.

Gen. Musa’s admission that border threats are a recurring intelligence report raises serious questions. If the military had repeatedly received warnings about external threats, what did it do with that intelligence? Why did it take yet another massacre for the authorities to act? The inability of the police to prevent the second wave of attack on the same night, in the same town, underlines a troubling pattern of security failure.

We agree with the IGP that this was indeed an attack on Nigeria’s sovereignty. But what concrete actions preceded these public pronouncements? Why did it take the killing of hundreds before talk of deploying more troops and equipment began? These measures should have been implemented long ago, given the frequency and ferocity of attacks on Benue communities.

The response from the Presidency was equally underwhelming. President Bola Tinubu did not visit the scene until June 18—five days after the massacre. When he finally did, he merely directed service chiefs to implement his “earlier directive” for restoring peace. Nigerians are asking: if those directives had been carried out when first issued, could these lives have been saved?

There were also reports that senior military officers deployed to Benue left after only a few hours—an indication that even they felt unsafe. President Tinubu’s call for Governor Hyacinth Alia to lead reconciliation talks has raised eyebrows. Who exactly is he meant to dialogue with—terrorists reportedly crossing into Nigeria from foreign borders?

As Commander-in-Chief, Tinubu missed an opportunity to take full control of the situation by remaining in Benue and directly leading the peace effort. His brief appearance felt more symbolic than strategic.

A growing number of Nigerians believe the war on terror has become a profiteering scheme. With trillions of naira spent and little progress made, there’s a strong perception that corruption, not capacity, is the real enemy. Security operatives and political insiders are believed to be benefiting from a prolonged crisis while ordinary citizens are being slaughtered.

If Nigeria is to overcome this existential threat, the government must urgently reassess its counterterrorism strategy. The culture of impunity, secrecy, and profiteering must give way to transparency, accountability, and a renewed commitment to protecting human life. The Benue massacre is not just another statistic—it is a national disgrace that demands justice, reform, and real leadership.