How I Lost 20 Family Members In Benue Attacks – Survivor Recounts [Video]

Survivors of the recent attack in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, have shared their painful experiences.

This comes after suspected herdsmen invaded their community, killing family members and burning down homes.

In a video interview with News Central TV, Michael Ajah, one of the survivors, said he lost about 20 relatives during the attack.

“My people, my family members, they died in this house, 11. Some died in the other store, eight, and some died here.

“My whole family members that died yesterday, the day before yesterday, on that very day, there were 20.

“That is my own family members. I’m not talking about any other thing. That is my own family members,” Ajah said.

Ajah described how the attackers also destroyed everything he owned.

“This is my store. Those shops are my stores. Those places are burnt. My house is up there, that place also is burnt.

“And the store where I pack my goods, I store my goods everywhere. That’s burnt. They burnt my clothes. They burnt everything. They burnt our food. All my family members.

“What we came out with is our clothes, what we wear. And I, standing here, this is what I came out with. And this is the only thing that I have. There is nothing with me,” he said holding the cloth he was wearing.

Ajah said the attackers struck late at night during heavy rain saying, “On that very day, rain started in the evening. So we entered. I slept there. So, I was sleeping. Around 10.20, we heard gunshots at the back there. So, before we could notice that something has happened, fulani men, they entered this place.”

He added that he was certain they were Fulani men because he heard them speak.

“They were speaking and I was inside the room and I heard them clearly, not somebody told me. I was inside the room there and they surrounded that room. I escaped narrowly. My brother was burnt in this house. Some escaped. My dad was burnt in this house,” he said.

Another resident, Bature Bartholomew, also shared his loss, revealing that his younger brother, sister-in-law, and mother were among those killed and burnt in their home.

Bartholomew added that his goods, mainly grains like maize, guinea corn, rice, and soya beans, were also destroyed in the fire.

He said, “I can’t say precisely because it’s over millions of naira. I store grains like guinea corn, maize, soya beans, rice.

“My younger brother stays here. he’s no longer alive, he was burnt inside this house. He was burnt in this house, yes him, his wife, mother and many others were burnt in this house.”

Watch the video below:

VIDEO: 'I lost 20 members of my family' — Benue attack survivor recounts ordeal

📹: News Central pic.twitter.com/Rgb6p8yy3Y

— TheCable (@thecableng) June 17, 2025

"It's over millions of naira that I lost in this store."

Bature Bartholomew says he lost millions of naira worth of grains, along with his younger brother and sister-in-law, in the Yelewata killings in Benue State. pic.twitter.com/4x9MGlCSFe

— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) June 16, 2025

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to visit Benue state on Wednesday to address the ongoing violence in the state.