Building Blocks for Peace Foundation (BBFORPEACE) has urged the federal government to provide long-term psycho-social support and trauma healing interventions for survivors, especially children and women, through a coordinated response between government and non-governmental organisations.
The executive director, Rafiu Adeniran Lawal, in a press statement issued Monday, expressed shock over the barbaric attacks carried out on the Yelwata community in Guma local government area of Benue state on Saturday, June 14, 2025, which reportedly claimed over 100 innocent lives, including internally displaced persons, women, children, and entire families.
He said the gruesome incident marks the third assault on Yelwata in just one week, revealing a chilling pattern of impunity, government inaction, and the total breakdown of security in border communities across the Benue–Nasarawa axis.
He said the fact that such a heinous atrocity could occur for over two hours with little to no effective response from security agencies is not only alarming but a gross indictment of Nigeria’s internal security architecture.
He added that it is even more horrifying to learn that the majority of the victims were Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who had already fled previous violence in their ancestral communities, only to be burned alive in makeshift shelters or hacked to death in cold blood.
“These attacks are not random acts of violence, they are systematic, calculated, and deliberate attempts to annihilate entire communities and ethnic identities.
“Building Blocks for Peace Foundation unequivocally condemn these acts as crimes against humanity. We also mourn the tragic loss of the brave soldiers ambushed and killed in Daudu while responding to a similar crisis.
“We stand in unwavering solidarity with the victims, survivors, and all affected families. This level of violence is unacceptable in any civilised society and must never be normalised.
He urged the government to launch an independent judicial panel of inquiry into the Yelwata and Daudu attacks to uncover the perpetrators, the extent of negligence by security forces, and the failure of early warning mechanisms.
He also called on the government to strengthen the presence of well-equipped, professional, and neutral security forces in Guma LGA and other flashpoints across Benue state to prevent further attacks and protect vulnerable populations.