Families in Benue State are in deep sorrow after gunmen, believed to be herdsmen, attacked Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area. The shocking event has left many people dead and survivors heartbroken.
The attack started on Friday night, June 13, and lasted into the early hours of Saturday, June 14. It claimed the lives of over 100 people. Some reports suggest that up to 200 people may have been killed, but this number has not been officially confirmed.
Tsegba Gbam Ayua is one of the people hit hardest by the tragedy. He lost his wife and four children during the attack.
Ayua shared that he may never fully heal from the pain. The trauma has left a deep scar, and he’s finding it hard to cope with the loss.
He explained that he had been living in Yelwata after being displaced from Ayua in Nasarawa State two years ago. Just days before the attack, he had travelled back to Nasarawa to do some small jobs and earn money for his family.
Ayua said he got a phone call around 11 p.m. on Friday, informing him that the community where his family was staying had come under attack. He rushed back the next morning, only to find that his family had been killed and burned in the market stalls where they had been sleeping.
Over 100 dead bodies were found in the area after the attack. Ayua buried his wife and children the same day and is now left to face life alone.
Another victim, Prince Aondona Isaka Ornguga, revealed that he lost 23 family members during the same attack. At first, he thought 15 of his relatives had died, but later confirmed the total was 23.
Ornguga, who once worked as a Senior Special Assistant under former Governor Samuel Ortom, said all 23 of the deceased were from his mother’s side of the family.
He recalled talking to two of the victims, Victor Utim and Mathew Iormba, just three weeks before the attack. Utim had just taken his JAMB exam and was hoping to gain admission into a university, while Iormba had gone to check on his business.
Ornguga said it was heartbreaking to know how cruelly they were killed. He described Iormba as a talented pharmacist with big dreams, and he had high hopes for Utim’s future too.
Another survivor, Mama Victoria Tyobee, shared her shocking experience. She still doesn’t understand how she managed to escape alive from the attackers.
She said she was sleeping around midnight when she heard gunshots. Looking through her window, she saw a gunman right outside her house. Moments later, the attackers began shooting all over the place. The gunman near her ran into the bushes.
After some time, she gathered the courage to leave her house. Sadly, she found out that some of her family members were not as lucky. She lost three relatives in the attack and said it was a painful and heartbreaking moment.
