By Olisemeka Obeche

Human Rights Lawyer, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has condemned the latest killings of civilians in Benue State by suspected Fulani herdsmen, despite heavy presence of security operatives in the state.

Ejiofor, a lead counsel to the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, said in a statement on Monday that the latest killing that took place in Yelwata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue state, smacks of ethnic cleansing.

“Over the weekend, Nigeria was once again drenched in the blood of the innocent. More than 100 lives -men, women, children, the elderly – were reported to have been brutally massacred in Yelewata community, Benue State, by bloodthirsty Fulani herdsmen.

“These Nigerians were not soldiers on a battlefield. They were sleeping in their ancestral homes – butchered like animals in the dead of night.

“What manner of evil drives such carnage?What has Nigeria become when her citizens are hunted like game, and those constitutionally entrusted with the monopoly of force remain deafeningly silent?

“Even more troubling is that this atrocity took place under the watchful eyes of a heavily deployed security presence – at a time when the Chief of Army Staff and other top security heads were said to have relocated their operational base to Benue.

“So we must ask: What exactly are they commanding? Who exactly are they protecting? Is this criminal negligence – or complicity wrapped in official silence?”

“Or worse still, is there an insidious agenda – one that seeks to normalize ethnic cleansing, displace communities, and render a historic people stateless within their own nation?”

Ejiofor, urged President Bola Tinubu to match his words with actions by ensuring that the orgy of killings by armed herdsmen in Nigeria are brought to and end while bringing the perpetrators to justice.

He wrote: “This is not just a Benue tragedy. It is a national disgrace.

“Benue is bleeding. Nigeria is decaying. The center has not merely collapsed; it is rotting from within.

“To the victims, we owe more than pity – we owe remembrance, and above all, justice.
To the perpetrators – we demand consequences.

“And to those in power, we demand truth, accountability, and decisive action. This carnage must not be buried with the dead.
It must be named.
It must be condemned. And it must never be forgotten – until justice prevails, and peace is restored.

Read dfull text below:

MONDAY MUSING:
THE STENCH OF SLAUGHTER IN BENUE – WHOSE AGENDA IS THIS?

Over the weekend, Nigeria was once again drenched in the blood of the innocent.

More than 100 lives -men, women, children, the elderly – were reported to have been brutally massacred in Yelewata community, Benue State, by bloodthirsty Fulani herdsmen. These Nigerians were not soldiers on a battlefield. They were sleeping in their ancestral homes – butchered like animals in the dead of night.

What manner of evil drives such carnage?

What has Nigeria become when her citizens are hunted like game, and those constitutionally entrusted with the monopoly of force remain deafeningly silent?

Even more troubling is that this atrocity took place under the watchful eyes of a heavily deployed security presence – at a time when the Chief of Army Staff and other top security heads were said to have relocated their operational base to Benue.

So we must ask:

🔹 What exactly are they commanding?
🔹 Who exactly are they protecting?
🔹 Is this criminal negligence – or complicity wrapped in official silence?

Are we being told the truth – or has leadership become so desensitized that mass murder is now reduced to cold statistics in press releases?

Or worse still, is there an insidious agenda – one that seeks to normalize ethnic cleansing, displace communities, and render a historic people stateless within their own nation?

This is not just a Benue tragedy. It is a national disgrace.

We must speak now – or history will record our silence as complicity.

Benue is bleeding. Nigeria is decaying. The center has not merely collapsed; it is rotting from within.

To the victims, we owe more than pity – we owe remembrance, and above all, justice.
To the perpetrators – we demand consequences.
And to those in power, we demand truth, accountability, and decisive action.

This carnage must not be buried with the dead.
It must be named.
It must be condemned.
And it must never be forgotten – until justice prevails, and peace is restored.

BenueMassacre

JusticeForBenue

NigeriaBleeds

StopTheKillings

SecurityOrConspiracy

HumanLivesMatter

EndEthnicCleansing

LeadershipAccountabilityNow

@EjioforBar
June 16, 2025