Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday ordered that nine suspects arrested over the June 2025 killings in Yelwata, Benue State, be remanded at Kuje Correctional Centre pending trial.
The suspects were arraigned on 57-count charges by the Federal Government, with the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), leading the prosecution.
All nine defendants pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them through an interpreter. The AGF requested an accelerated trial, noting that eight witnesses were ready to testify. Counsel for the first, eighth, and ninth defendants also made an oral application for bail.
However, Justice Abdulmalik ordered that the suspects remain in custody at Kuje Correctional Centre. The case was adjourned to February 26 and 27 for the commencement of the trial.
Earlier, the office of the Attorney General of the Federation assured Nigerians that justice would be served. In a statement, Kamarudeen Ogundele, Special Adviser to the AGF, said:
“The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to the protection of the lives and properties of all as enshrined in the Constitution.”
He added that the prosecution followed a “painstaking investigation and collaboration by government agencies.”
Background: Yelwata attack
In June 2025, gunmen attacked the Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, killing scores of residents and displacing hundreds. The incident sparked widespread protests and condemnation.
Security agencies subsequently arrested several suspects in connection with the attacks.
A survivor, Msurshima Apeh, recounted the ordeal to the United States Congress, describing how she witnessed the killing of her five children:
“I saw a tree, and I climbed up to hide myself. My five children below were crying, and in my presence, they were being slaughtered by the terrorists,” she told the House Subcommittee on Africa, which reviewed Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) in November 2026.
Following the attack, President Bola Ahmed 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,” Tinubu said at the Benue Government House in Makurdi during a stakeholders’ meeting.
The Yelwata attack adds to a series of violent incidents in the state, including the 2019 killing of four people in the Otobi community, among them Igbabe Ochi, a House of Assembly candidate for Otukpo-Akpa State Constituency under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
