The death toll from a brutal overnight attack on the Yelewata community in Benue State has risen to at least 150, according to survivors and local leaders.

The assault, which began late Friday night, saw gunmen storm the village, open fire on sleeping residents, and set homes and market stalls ablaze, killing entire families sheltering from previous violence.

Witnesses described a five-hour siege in which attackers, armed with sophisticated weapons, burned people alive inside makeshift shelters. Many victims were internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had fled earlier attacks and were sleeping in market stalls. “They slaughtered people here, others were burnt to ashes,” said survivor Matthew Nlan.

While no group has claimed responsibility, the attack fits a longstanding pattern of violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where Fulani herders and farming communities have clashed over land and water access. Analysts warn that the conflict has escalated, with more herders taking up arms and targeting entire villages.

Benue diaspora leaders have condemned the killings as “ethnic cleansing”, rejecting government claims that the violence is part of a symmetrical farmer-herder conflict. “These were not crossfire deaths. These were executions,” they wrote in a letter to President Tinubu.

President Bola Tinubu, visiting the state on Wednesday, declared that “the value of human life is greater than that of cows”, and promised to prioritize security in the region. However, no arrests have been made, and survivors say security forces failed to intervene during the attack.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reports that over 6,500 people have been displaced, with hospitals overwhelmed and urgent calls for blood donations and humanitarian aid.

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