Militants killed nearly 200 displaced Catholics in Benue, Nigeria, burning their shelters and attacking a mission which had welcomed them.
Newsroom, June 19 2025, Gaudium Press – In Benue, the Catholics who were slain lived in poverty, not even owning a house to sleep in. The Catholic mission welcomed them with love, giving them what it could.
Nigeria (June 17 2025 15:09, Gaudium Press) A massacre by militants ended the lives of nearly 200 Catholics in Benue State, Nigeria. The cowardly attack occurred Friday night, the 13th, when a terrorist group set fire to temporary shelters in the Yelewata market square, in Guma Local Government Area.
A bloody and cruel attack
Witnesses say police initially repelled the attackers as they tried to invade St. Joseph’s Church in Yelewata, where up to 700 Catholics slept. The militants then went to the city market square and, using fuel, set fire to the displaced persons’ lodgings where over 500 people were resting.
During the brutal attack, the terrorists shouted “Allahu Akhbar” (“God is great”) and opened fire on the sleeping Catholics. First responders encountered a massacre: dozens of charred, nearly unrecognizable bodies of men, women and children were strewn on the ground.
Death toll still uncertain
The number of dead in Benue remains uncertain. Authorities initially reported 100 killed during the three-hour attack. The Diocese of Makurdi estimates around 200 fatalities. This is yet another attack by terrorist militants who aim to force this entire community from the region.
In an interview with the Pontifical Foundation “Aid to the Church in Need,” Father Ukuma Jonathan Angbianbee described how he and other displaced persons escaped death by throwing themselves to the floor of the presbytery when they heard gunfire. “When we heard the shots and saw the militants, we surrendered our lives to God. That morning, I thanked God for being alive.”
Victims were poor Christians
All the murdered victims were “Christians who lived in poverty, they did not even own a house to sleep in. The Catholic mission welcomed them with love, giving them what it could,” says Father Remigius Ihyula, coordinator of the Commission for Development, Justice and Peace of the Diocese of Makurdi.
They were part of a large group of internally displaced persons hosted in a parish that cared for them, supporting their daily needs and offering warmth and affection. “We are devastated, we have no words to express all our pain for this barbaric act of terrorism,” lamented the priest. (EPC)
Compiled by Adele Wong.
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