Head of Miyetti Allah in Nasarawa on Trial for Yelewata Massacre
Forensic Teams Recover Bodies of 105 Christians as Trial Exposes Scale of Yelewata Atrocity
By Mike Odeh James and Olikita Ekani
(Makurdi) Mr. Lawal Mohammed Dono, and eight other Fulani tribal leaders are on trial in Abuja for masterminding the 2025 Father’s Day massacre in Yelewata, Nigeria that killed more than 270. Between them they are answering for 57 terrorism charges.
Frank Utoo, a Nigerian lawyer based in the United States, told TruthNigeria that Ardo Lawal Mohammed Dono was the massacre kingpin.
“He lives in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State, and he was the leader of Miyetti Allah in Nasarawa State at the time,” Utoo said. “On two occasions, as part of a peace delegation from the Benue State Government, I met with Ardo Mohammed Lawal Dono — in May 2020 and again in 2021. It was clear that he was the mastermind of the genocide against Benue people,” Utoo told TruthNigeria.
“Dono was the Chairman of Miyetti Allah in Lafia and Nasarawa State, Utoo said,
“When we pleaded with him and his group to stop the killing of Benue people, he said the killings could not be stopped. “They would say: Our cattle were killed, and Fulanis were stopped from grazing in Benue,” Utoo added.
Utoo, who was an aide to former Benue Governor Samuel Ortom, further told TruthNigeria that government investigations showed Dono was responsible for previous killings in Benue in 2023.
According to trial testimony in Abuja, Dono mobilized funds from other Ardos (Fulani chiefs), sourced weapons, and recruited men at a meeting in his compound in May 2025 for the vicious 5-hour attack in Yelewata from June 13 to June 14, 2025.
Utoo also alleged that Dono served as commander of a Fulani militia outfit reportedly established by top Miyetti Allah leader Bello Bodejo in 2024 in Nasarawa State, before the group was banned and Bodejo arrested.
Security reports obtained by TruthNigeria reveal that Dono was arrested after Fulani suspects caught with AK-47 weapons confessed that Dono was the mastermind behind the Yelewata massacre and had purchased the weapons for them.
Nine suspects — including Dono — are standing trial in connection with the June 13, 2025 massacre in Yelewata that authorities say left more than 270 people dead.
Ardos Collected Funds from other Ardos
The first prosecution witness, Moses Paul of the Nigerian Police Force’s Intelligence Response Team, testified that the attack was believed to be financed and commissioned by Fulani chiefs. According to his testimony, meetings were held in Nasarawa State where funds were pooled to mobilize armed men.
Investigators claim that one of the suspects, Haruna Abdullahi, confessed to attending those meetings, which allegedly began at the residence of a Fulani leader identified as Dono.
Prosecutors say the stated grievance of the nine co-conspirators centered on claims of unfair treatment of Fulani herders in Benue and Nasarawa States. Authorities further allege that the original target was the Daudu community, but after encountering resistance, the attackers redirected their operation to Yelewata.
Defense attorneys have challenged the court’s jurisdiction and sought bail, citing health concerns for the first defendant, who reportedly suffered a stroke while in custody. The court declined the defense motions. The case has been adjourned for continued testimony.
Forensic Exhumations in Yelewata
Nigerian police forensic experts have exhumed approximately 105 bodies from mass graves linked to the massacre. The recovery operation, conducted between February 24 and 26, 2026, was led by officials from Nigeria’s Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, working alongside medical examiners, members of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) from Abuja, officers of the State Security Service (SSS), and representatives of the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).
Authorities say the exhumations are intended to facilitate forensic identification of victims and strengthen the evidentiary record for ongoing prosecutions.
Security experts told TruthNigeria that the horrific Yelewata massacre was part of a coordinated campaign of ethnic cleansing and land grabbing by a Fulani ethnic militia. Experts emphasized that not all Fulanis are responsible for or support these attacks.
The National President of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria denied on Feb. 15 any link to banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, or cattle rustling, insisting it has never condoned violent crime in Nigeria, according to Punch.
Alhaji Baba Ngelzarma refuted claims of U.S. Congressmen announcing ‘H.R. 7457 – Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026’ before the United States Congress.
He appealed to the Nigerian Senate Committees on Foreign Affairs and on National Security and Intelligence to pass a resolution correcting what he called a false characterization.
However, Mr. Adakole Adamson of Adamson Security Consultancy, backed up the assertions of U.S. Representatives calling for Miyetti Allah to be held accountable for murdering Nigerian Christians.
“Myetti Allah groups and many Fulani politicians are directly sponsoring attacks on Christians in the Middle Belt and Northern Nigeria. This is what Congressman Riley Moore found when he visited Nigeria. The arrest of Dono, a chairman of Myetti Allah, is confirmation of that,” said Adakole Adamson of Adamson Security Consultancy told TruthNigeria.
Adamson noted that “the rate at which terrorists are being arrested and tried in Nigeria today shows that the pressure mounted on Nigeria by the US is working — but the United States needs to do more.”
Mike Odeh James and Olikita Ekani are reporters in conflict areas of the Middle Belt of Nigeria.
