By Peter.
In a gut-wrenching testimony that amplified global outcry over Nigeria’s escalating violence, Msurshima Apeh, a survivor of the June 2025 Yelwata massacre in Benue State, appeared virtually before the US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa on Thursday, November 20, 2025. Her account centered on the horrors of watching her five children murdered by suspected Fulani militants during a midnight raid on an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp.
The hearing, titled “President Trump’s Redesignation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern—CPC’: A Serious, Well-Founded Wake-Up Call,” scrutinized Trump’s recent reinstatement of Nigeria on the CPC list under the International Religious Freedom Act, citing “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” violations—primarily attacks on Christian communities by Islamist extremists and armed herdsmen.
Apeh’s Harrowing Ordeal: “They Were Butchering Them with Cutlasses”
Apeh, speaking from a relocation camp in Benue, recounted the attack on the night of June 13-14, 2025, in Yelwata, Guma Local Government Area—a farming community sheltering over 3,000 displaced persons fleeing prior herder-farmer clashes.
“When we went to sleep that night around 9 pm, the Fulani terrorists attacked us where we were sleeping. We were locked inside the camp, Yelwata, and they were butchering them with cutlasses and shooting guns as well. When the torture had finished at some point in time, they poured petrol on the building and the majority of them were set ablaze,” she testified.
As screams filled the air, Apeh spotted a tree amid the chaos and climbed it to hide, her heart shattering as she witnessed the militants slaughter her five children below. “In the course of this action, I saw a tree when I lifted my eyes. I raised my hands on the tree and climbed up where I was able to hide myself. My five children that I left below were crying, and in my presence, they were being slaughtered by the terrorists,” she said, her voice breaking.
She later fled into the surrounding bush, evading capture until rescuers pulled her to safety. “I ran out into the bush at some point, and those who came for rescue will now bring me out of that place at some point, and I was able to witness the whole drama. When the people came, we were now relocated to a new camp,” Apeh added.
Her testimony, delivered with raw emotion, drew audible gasps from lawmakers and witnesses, including Benue Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, who separately described the violence as an “escalating genocide against Christians,” citing wiped-out villages, murdered priests, and over 178 deaths in Yelwata alone.
The Yelwata Massacre: A Night of Flames and Carnage
The assault, lasting about two hours, claimed between 100 and 300 lives (estimates vary due to charred remains and limited access), including civilians and five security personnel—two soldiers, one police officer, and two vigilantes. Armed assailants, believed to be Fulani herdsmen speaking Fulfulde, stormed the IDP camp, hacking victims with machetes, firing indiscriminately, and dousing homes, market stalls, and a rice warehouse with petrol before setting them ablaze.
One survivor, farmer Iormba, lost ventures worth tens of millions of naira in the inferno. Entire families perished—one report detailed a household of 15 wiped out. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed dozens injured, with 46 hospitalized, while over 3,000 were displaced anew.
No group claimed responsibility, but locals and rights advocates pointed to herder militias amid longstanding land disputes. A US-based group, Truth Nigeria, claimed it warned Nigerian authorities, military, and DSS of the impending raid days earlier—allegations of foreknowledge fueling complicity charges.
Nigeria’s Response: Pledges, Arrests, and Outrage
The massacre ignited fury across Nigeria, with protests in Makurdi demanding justice. President Bola Tinubu cleared his schedule for an emergency visit on June 17, 2025, meeting stakeholders, touring hospitals, and vowing direct intervention: “This is a grim reminder of the daily struggles… We will transform Nigeria and protect lives.”
Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun labeled the attacks a “threat to national sovereignty,” deploying extra forces and announcing the arrest of 26 suspects linked to Yelwata. Religious bodies like the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), civil society, and opposition figures echoed calls for robust security reforms to halt the “terror wave.”
Yet, as Apeh’s words reverberate—shared widely on X, including viral clips from Nigerian news handles—the hearing exposed deepening rifts. US lawmakers decried government “complacency,” while Abuja rejects the “genocide” label, insisting violence stems from herder-farmer clashes, not religion. With over 500 Christian deaths reported since Yelwata, advocates warn of a tipping point unless accountability prevails.
Apeh’s plea for justice now hangs over Nigeria’s fragile peace, a stark reminder that in the shadows of Benue’s farms, survival demands more than trees to climb— it requires a nation to act.
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