The Federal Government on Monday arraigned several suspects linked to the killings in Yelwata, Benue State.
The suspects appeared before Justice Joyce Abdul-Malik of the Federal High Court in Abuja, facing a 57-count charge being read to them through an interpreter.
Leading the prosecution is the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
In a statement, the office of the Attorney General assured Nigerians that justice would be served, sending a strong message to anyone acting against the country under any disguise.
“The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to the protection of lives and properties of all as enshrined in the Constitution,” said Kamarudeen Ogundele, Special Adviser to the AGF. He added that the prosecution follows a “painstaking investigation and collaboration by government agencies.”
The charges relate to a June 2025 attack on the Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area, during which gunmen killed scores and displaced hundreds. The attack sparked widespread condemnation and protests across the state.
Security agencies later arrested several suspects in connection with the killings.
A survivor of the Yelwata attack, Msurshima Apeh, recounted the trauma of losing her five children during the onslaught. Testifying before the United States House Subcommittee on Africa, she said:
“In the course of this action, I saw a tree. I raised my hands on the tree and climbed up where I was able to hide myself. My five children that I left below were crying, and in my presence, they were being slaughtered by the terrorists.”
Her testimony came as the US examined President Donald Trump’s decision to return Nigeria to the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list in November 2026.
Following the Yelwata attack, President Tinubu visited Benue State and urged security operatives to apprehend the perpetrators.
“Police, I hope your men are on alert to listen to information. How come no arrest has been made? I expect there should be an arrest of those criminals,” he said during a stakeholders meeting at the Benue Government House in Makurdi.
The Yelwata attack is part of a troubling pattern of violence in the state, including the killing of four people in the Otobi community in 2019, among them Igbabe Ochi, a House of Assembly candidate for Otukpo-Akpa State Constituency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
