On the night of Friday, June 13, militants attacked already displaced Christian families in Yelewata, Benue State, in what local leaders describe as the deadliest assault on the region in recent memory. Up to 200 people were reportedly killed — some burned alive, others shot or killed with machetes — as hundreds slept in repurposed market‑square shelters near Makurdi.
According to Aid to the Church in Need, attackers first attempted to breach St. Joseph’s Church, where about 700 internally displaced persons (IDPs) sheltered. Although police successfully repelled that first wave, militants then moved their assault to the nearby market shelters that had over 500 people.
Using fuel to ignite entrances, they trapped and executed residents, chanting “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire and launching machete attacks. Early reports indicated at least 100 deaths; later investigations by the Diocese of Makurdi’s Foundation for Justice, Development, and Peace (FJDP) raised the toll to nearly 200.
Father Ukuma Jonathan Angbianbee, the parish priest of Yelewata, recounts taking cover in the church presbytery as gunfire erupted.
“When we heard the shots … we committed our lives to God. This morning, I thank God I am alive,” he told ACN.
Coordinated attack
Venturing into the aftermath, he found “people were slaughtered. Corpses were scattered everywhere,” with many bodies burned beyond recognition — including whole families.
The FJDP described the massacre as "not a sight for anyone to behold.”
“The attack was carefully coordinated,” said Father Jonathan, noting militants entered from multiple directions under cover of heavy rain and openly identified themselves as Fulanis.
Benue Diocese clergy condemned the security forces’ response, saying that while police defended the church, “Where were they the previous evening when we needed them?” Police were present en masse the next morning but failed to prevent the massacre.
On Sunday, June 15, Pope Leo XIV expressed his grief before praying the Angelus, praying for “those brutally killed” and for “security, justice and peace” in Nigeria.
He especially remembered the “rural Christian communities of Benue State who have been relentless victims of violence.”
This atrocity comes amid escalating violence in Benue, particularly around Makurdi, where more than 100 civilians were murdered in Gwer West about three weeks earlier, displacing over 5,000.
Church leaders warn that jihadi militants aim to seize territory and cleanse the region of its Christian population, and are urgently calling for international intervention.
