Benue Massacre: Photos Emerge as Tinubu Visits Hospital

• President Bola Tinubu has visited the victims of the recent Benue attacks at the teaching hospital in Makurdi, the state capital
• Tinubu had visited the state to share his condolences with the people of the Yelwata community in the Guma LGA of Benue state on Wednesday, June 18
• The president is expected to hold a town hall meeting during his visit to the state with a view to finding a solution to the insecurity crisis rocking the state

President Bola Tinubu has visited the surviving victims of the brutal attack in Yelwata community in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue State on Wednesday, June 18.

The president visited the north-central state following the Friday, June 13, attack, which claimed the lives of 59 people and injured several others.

How Tinubu arrived in Benue

Arriving in the state at the Tactical Air Command, Nigerian Air Force Base, Makurdi, at about 12:58 pm, the president headed to the hospital. Tinubu then left the hospital for the new Banquet Hall at the Benue State Government House.

At the town hall meeting, the president will be meeting with major stakeholders in the state with a view to providing lasting solutions to the continuous attacks on lives and properties. The meeting with stakeholders is a broader move to stop the crisis rocking the state, particularly the rural communities.

This would be the first physical engagement of President Tinubu in the north-central state following the escalation of violence in many. Many have opined that the visit was a critical test of the readiness of the administration to tackle insecurity, especially in states affected by banditry, herders and communal clashes.

Tinubu condemns Benue killings

President Tinubu has previously condemned the ongoing violence in Benue state and called on all leaders and residents to embrace peace, love, and mutual understanding. He extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to all those who have suffered losses as a result of the crisis.

According to his itinerary released over the weekend, President Tinubu was scheduled to visit Kaduna state on Wednesday, June 18, to commission various state government projects. However, the official visit will now occur on Thursday, June 19, 2025.

Clashes between nomadic herders and settled farmers are common in the north-central region. They are partly fuelled by competition over land. Farmers accuse the herders, mostly of Fulani origin, of grazing their livestock on their farms and destroying their produce. The herders insist that the lands are grazing routes that were first backed by law in 1965, five years after the country gained its independence.

Benue governor reacts to killings

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue condemned "in strong terms" the attacks and massacre of innocent citizens at Yelewata by suspected criminal herders.

According to a statement by Tersoo Kula, Alia's chief press secretary (CPS), the governor asserted that nothing should warrant the taking of life.

Deputy Governor of the state, Barrister Sam Ode, who visited the scene of the heinous act earlier today, Sunday, June 15, on the directives of the governor, delivered the message.

Source: Legit.ng