Four residents of Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, where over 200 people were reportedly killed by suspected terrorists, share their pains with JOHN CHARLES, who visited the community that has become a ghost town after the attacks
What is your name?
My name is Teide User. I am 35 years old, a farmer. I am married and have a child, although my wife is pregnant.
Where were you the day the attack took place?
Earlier that day (Friday), my father sent me to Lafia (the Nasarawa State capital) to secure the bail of my younger brother, who was arrested by the police in this community. My younger brother was accused of rustling a cow, and they took him to Lafia.
Why is it so? Is Yelwata not under the Benue State Police Command?
Well, I cannot say anything about that, but that has been our experience here—any day, anytime.
Our people here have issues with the police. So, they refer them to Lafia. For a long time, we have been asking the same question: why Lafia?
The question became necessary because Yelwata community is under Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. But each time there’s an issue here, they take it to Lafia in Nasarawa State.
Don’t you think the arrest and movement of suspects from Yelwata to Lafia is because the community (Yelwata) is closer to Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital?
I don’t know anything about that. It is only the police that can answer that. Since you came from Makurdi, try and ask their boss there. Maybe they will be able to explain to you.
Was there any issue of cattle rustling before your brother was arrested?
I’m not aware of any case of cattle rustling in this community. How would he have done that? It’s not possible. If truly he did that, they wouldn’t have allowed me to secure his bail that Friday I went to Lafia.
What happened after you arrived from Lafia?
I learnt that while I was in Lafia, some Fulani people visited the community and held a meeting with our elders, seeking the cooperation of the community and saying we should live in peace.
Was the visit by Fulani leaders as a result of the allegations of cattle rustling?
No. About a week before, there was a fight between a Fulani man and a Tiv man in Daudu (a neighbouring community), where a Fulani man was said to have defecated in a stream that people used for domestic purposes.
So, people challenged the Fulani man, but he fought with one of the young Tiv men, and they injured each other.
They were taken to the hospital, and it was the local government that paid for the treatment of both. It was this issue, we believe, that brought them to Yelwata that Friday to come and settle with our elders.
Unfortunately, it was that day that they later came to attack us here. But we later learnt that before they launched the attack in Yelwata that night, they had gone to Daudu to unleash terror. They were, however, repelled by the combined efforts of security men and youths of the community.
According to what we heard, which matched what we saw, the attackers divided themselves; one group went to Daudu to attack, while the other came to Yelwata.
Youths in Yelwata tried to resist the group that attacked us. Among them was my brother. They would have succeeded, but it seemed that when the group in Daudu failed, they came and joined the one in Yelwata.
We learnt from the youth that the first group was retreating when the youth resisted them, but that was before the reinforcement from Daudu joined them. After that, the reinforced group encircled the whole community.
You said some youths tried to resist the attack. Was there any speculation that your community would soon be attacked before the incident happened?
Yes, we had heard of plans to attack Yelwata and other communities in the local government.
How many of your family members were killed?
My immediate younger brother, Peter User, who recently completed his secondary school education at Mount Sinai Academic College in Kardarko, just a few kilometres from here, was killed.
My uncle, Francis User, a retired soldier, and his two children were also killed during the attack. One of his sons, Terser User, who was killed, was an HND graduate but yet to secure any job. Onyema User was my uncle’s other child who didn’t survive the invasion. Losing a sibling, an uncle, and two cousins is difficult to bear.
How did the incident happen?
I came back a bit late from Lafia that day and dropped my brother off at our parents’ house while I went to my house.
Suddenly, we began to hear gunshots everywhere at about 11 pm. My father said that Peter, on hearing the gunshots, got up and joined his peers, as usual, to see what was happening because he was one of the youth volunteering to protect our community.
That was how he left. But before long, everyone in the community rushed out to seek refuge. Throughout the night, no one could help anyone.
In fact, I didn’t see my pregnant wife and the child until Saturday morning when things had calmed down. The attackers came at 10:50 pm on Friday and operated till around 2 am on Saturday.
So, it was hell. It was Saturday morning that we realised the devastation. There was weeping and sorrow everywhere.
Survivors began to search for their loved ones, and that was when my father told me Peter had gone out during the gunfire. By then, I had rejoined my family.
So, the search for Peter began, and we later saw his butchered body along with others.
At what point did you discover the corpses of your uncle and his children?
You know there was pandemonium all over the community; several houses were burning. It was during our search that we discovered that my uncle and his children were killed in his house.
It seemed they were the first casualties because their house is closer to the entry points. The invaders came from different directions. The first group started shooting, while the second group went around with fuel to burn people in their houses.
The attack lasted about three hours. If you had gone to the market square earlier, you would have seen the bodies of people burnt almost to ashes.
Have they been buried?
Yes, but initially, the community wanted to leave the corpses or bring them out for the government to see the carnage caused by the Fulani. But I think the local government directed otherwise.
The elders told people to identify their loved ones and bury them. So, that was when we buried the four people.
But this area still stinks. Why is it so?
Yes, don’t you see the Tor Tiv and the Tiv Traditional Council going around to assess the situation? There are charred bodies of victims that no one could identify. So, the government directed that they be evacuated and buried.
Look at the shallow graves being dug to evacuate the bodies for burial, because the whole area still stinks due to the burnt bodies.
What do you want the government to do for the community?
What we need is peace—nothing but peace. The government should find a lasting solution to the incessant attacks on Benue communities. The point is that we don’t know what the people of Yelwata did to deserve this carnage. You can see for yourself how the community has been deserted. Some people fled to Daudu, others to Makurdi.
There were security men around, but they did nothing to protect our people. It’s that bad. The community is deserted. Even the people you see here only came this morning. Many were evacuated to Makurdi since Saturday. Some who have families in Makurdi have relocated to stay with them; others have gone to Daudu, and many to Nasarawa State—we share boundaries with them.
The few people here are just keeping tabs on the community. The paramount ruler of the Tiv nation has just left, so some of our people will be staying behind.
If you go to the Teaching Hospital in Makurdi, you’ll see many people there—over 100 receiving treatments. So, my only request is peace. Absolute peace.
Invaders set house ablaze, killing my wife, three children – 45-year-old farmer
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Agundu Gwabo. I am 45 years old, a farmer, and an indigene of Yelwata in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
Where were you when the attack took place?
I was in Yelwata that day, but I slept where my first wife lives, while my second wife and three children stayed at a different house. I have two wives with nine children.
How did you hear about the death of your wife and children?
The Fulani people came that Friday, firing gunshots throughout the community. So, everybody ran for safety. I thought my other wife and her children had also escaped to safety, not knowing that the house I put them in was set ablaze by the invaders.
It was early Saturday morning when I was looking for them that I was told the house had been burnt.
How did you feel hearing that your wife and her three children were burnt?
God gave them to me and He has taken them away. I thank God that I am still alive with the other wife and children.
My son, others were trapped in burning house – Yelwata resident
What is your view about the attack on your community by suspected terrorists?
My name is Utim Tarbee, and I’m a native of Yelwata. I am a farmer. It was a terrifying experience. The attack on the community on Friday night dragged into the wee hours of Saturday.
How did it happen?
People were asleep when the incident happened. The invaders came around 10:45 pm that Friday and were shooting sporadically. They came from different directions and encircled the community. They moved from one house to another, pouring fuel and setting the houses ablaze.
My son was with one of his friends when they attacked the house. The invaders surrounded it, poured fuel on it, and set it on fire. Some of them were trapped inside.
What do you want the government to do?
Well, I have left everything to God. I don’t know. Whatever the government can do to solve the problem of attackers invading Benue communities, they should do it without delay, because these killings are one too many. We are tired.
My father, grandmother, three siblings killed in night raid – 18-year-old SS3 student
How old are you?
I am Nnenna Ezekiel, and I am 18 years old, a student at the Government Secondary School in Kardonko. I am in SS3 and just completed my WAEC exam. I’m waiting to sit the NECO exam this month.
I was preparing for my exam, only for my family and I to witness this gory attack last weekend, which I’m sure has put a stop to my education.
My father, who was taking care of my upkeep, died in the attack alongside my grandmother and three siblings.
How did it happen?
It’s like a dream, and up till this moment, I cannot explain how I escaped. We were 15 in the house that day and were already sleeping when we were woken up by sporadic gunshots.
We didn’t know that, at that particular time, our house had already been surrounded by Fulani herders, and they were pouring fuel on the building. We suddenly heard an explosion, which made us start looking for any escape route.
My father, though ruffled, was a bit calm. He rushed and opened rooms, windows, and the main door.
Unfortunately, in the process of doing that, he was shot by the attackers. So, I took a bold step to look into one of the rooms where the fire was not fierce and jumped through the window. Others followed suit (showing her left hand that was affected by fire).
So, all of you were able to escape?
Not all of us. Only those of us who came out first were lucky, while the other siblings—though they were from my stepmother—were butchered. My grandmother was caught in the fire.
Where did you and others run to after you escaped?
We ran to the Catholic Church near the police station and stayed there till daybreak.
What was your father’s occupation, and where were your mother and siblings at the time of the attack?
My biological mother was not at home that day; she went to visit her mother in Daudu with my siblings (from the same mother). Though she was to come back that day, as God would have it, she did not return.
Where are the other siblings, your mum, and your father’s wife?
My mum is in the camp with us and has gone to queue for food the government officials are distributing down there, while my stepmum is with her family in town.
