300 Burned Alive: The Untold Horror of Yelewata’s June Massacre

Smoke from charred homes still drifts over Yelewata, the small farming settlement along the Abuja–Makurdi highway, weeks after suspected herdsmen descended on June 13–14, 2025. More than 150 were killed before dawn, but locals claim the carnage reached over 300—the worst massacre in Benue State’s recent memory.

Survivors describe nights of screams and gunfire as assailants set fire to markets, churches, and a primary school where hundreds sought refuge. Elder Amos, 57, said he escaped with his son; his entire family perished. “It was like a war… my world ended that Friday night,” he told our correspondent.

Tensions had escalated after local leaders in Tiv and Idoma communities ordered herders to vacate farmland, yet no enforcement followed—until Yelewata’s utter destruction. Reports suggest assailants were guided through Giza and Kadarko from Nasarawa State, striking the town’s most densely populated shelters .

The victims range from children and elderly to professionals like young pharmacist Matthew Iormba, who had just returned home after housemanship. Tsegba Lucy lost her mother and five siblings. Agande, a local footballer, returned home after a match to discover his entire extended family incinerated.

Benue Governor Hyacinth Alia’s panel reported 59 dead, but residents dismissed that figure. Samson, a youth leader, said families lost more than 40 members each—with more names emerging daily from mass graves and charred remains.

International outrage followed: Amnesty International confirmed scores were locked and burned alive . Pope Leo XIV, speaking from Rome, called the atrocity a “terrible massacre” and pleaded for justice and protection for Benue’s rural communities.

As families resist buried beneath rubble and unanswered questions linger, Yelewata stares down a long recovery. The community mourns its dead while demanding accountability—will justice arrive before healing becomes impossible?