Warning Signs Ignored Before Benue‘s Deadliest Massacre
By TruthNigeria Staff
(Makurdi, Benue State) The Nigerian Department of State Security (DSS) was forewarned of attacks that killed more than 200 in Benue State on June 13-14, according to Yelewata eyewitnesses and media reports.
The Warning That Went Unheeded
A memo landed at Operation Whirl Stroke headquarters on May 13, 2025—exactly one month before the massacre. Department of State Security Service (DSS) intelligence warned of “coordinated attacks on Tiv settlements” by “suspected armed Fulani mercenaries” across Nasarawa and Benue states. The document, now circulating on social media, detailed planned assaults on multiple communities including Yelwata (also spelled Yelewata), where more than 200 Christian farmers would die in a horrific night of violence.
The Anatomy of Destruction
At 10:30 PM on June 13, 2025, more than 100 Fulani ethnic militias crossed from Nasarawa state into Yelwata, an agrarian Christian community in Benue’s Guma Local Government Area, according to Community leader, John Nadoo, speaking with TruthNigeria.
“They came in and began to use machetes to hack down women and children who were already asleep – oblivious to what was happening. After hacking them down, they burned some bodies,” said Tersoo who lost his mother in-law in the attack recounted, his voice heavy with the memory of that night.
Questions of Response Time
The Nigerian Army’s delayed response has sparked anger among survivors. Military backup didn’t arrive until 4:00 a.m. — hours after the attackers had melted back into the forest. A vigilante member (volunteer community guard), speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the topic, questioned the timeline: “From Makurdi to Yelwata is not far, just about 30 or 40 minutes drive, and there is army barracks with plenty soldiers there, why didn’t they come in time to help us?”
Contradicting the Official Narrative
New testimonies from Yelewata residents reveal that the widely reported “diversionary attack” story may have been fabricated to cover up security failures. Terhemba Paul, a Yelewata resident, told TruthNigeria: “We were actually told to say that there was another attack in a nearby community on June 13.” When pressed about who gave these instructions, Paul’s companion looked at him warningly, and he refused to speak further.
Journalist Achin Mathias, a Yelewata native who witnessed the June 13 attack, directly contradicted official accounts: “The account of the diversionary attack as reported by the Chief of Defense Staff in one of his media outings is not true. It is a deliberate attempt to spare them of their responsibilities.”
Security Failures Exposed
Mathias revealed the extent of security negligence: “That very day, there were suspicious movements around our community, and it was reported to the security but there was no surveillance. At about 10 PM when the terrorists launched the attack, there were only four military personnel on ground around the Primary School Yelewata.”
The attack lasted from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. with no security backup. “It was after the attackers did their worst and left that soldiers from 72 [Special Forces Battalion] arrived for rescue,” Mathias explained. The battalion is based in Makurdi, just 40 minutes from Yelwata.
The Intelligence Controversy
The leaked DSS memo provides damning details about advance warning. It specified that Fulani militias were “hibernating at Amako and Igbabo forest located between Mkoma and Doka villages in Doma County (Local Governance Area) and Ikom forest, located a few kilometers away from Yelewata-Udei-Ukohol and Kadarko Railway.” The document even outlined the motive: revenge for the alleged seizure of 80 cows by Benue state government under the state’s anti-open grazing laws.
A DSS officer in Abuja confirmed the document’s authenticity to TruthNigeria under strict confidentiality. “Yes, the document is authentic and emanated from our Nasarawa command office in Lafia,” the source revealed. “The document is real and was shared with the military.”
Military Denial and Counter-Claims
Major General Moses Gara, Force Commander of Operation Whirl Stroke, on June 25 has vehemently denied receiving advance intelligence. In an Army statement, Gara called allegations “unfounded” and demanded proof that any memo was “formally dispatched and received at Headquarters OPWS.”
“This kind of misleading publication does more harm than good. It demoralizes our troops, misinforms the public, and emboldens criminal elements,” Gara stated, pushing back against reports of intelligence failure. The general also used language that could be used to prosecute the publication that first made the claim, Sahara Reporters, by calling the published report “false, misleading, and a dangerous form of cyberbullying.”
The Numbers Game: Disputing Death Tolls
The casualty count itself has become contentious. While community leaders report more than 200 deaths, and while Governor Hyacinth Alia confirmed 151 fatalities, Nigerian Police have claimed only 47 people died—a pattern consistent with authorities’ tendency to downplay terrorist attack casualties.
This discrepancy reflects a broader challenge in documenting violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where official figures often clash dramatically with community accounts and reports by international human rights organizations.
Police Arrests and Ongoing Investigation
Nigerian Police announced the arrest of 28 suspects in connection with the Yelwata massacre, although details about their identities and specific roles remain undisclosed. The arrests, made across multiple states, represent the largest sweep of suspects linked to the attack, but community members question whether those responsible for planning and executing the coordinated assault are among the detained.
The Broader Pattern of Violence
The Yelewata massacre represents the latest in a series of attacks that have plagued Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, where relationships between predominantly Muslim herders and Christian farmers have been strained for two decades.
The attack’s sophistication—with diversionary tactics and coordinated strikes — suggests a level of planning that goes beyond spontaneous conflicts over grazing lands. If in fact authorities possessed detailed intelligence about the planned assault, failure to prevent it demands a greater public hearing, according to locals interviewed by TruthNigeria.
Two weeks after the massacre, survivors still seek answers about how their warnings were ignored and their community left defenseless. The leaked memo raises questions about the gap between security knowledge and protective action.
