Once again, the nation is mourning, and our hearts are heavy. The recent massacre in the Yelwata area of Benue State, where over 200 innocent Nigerians were gruesomely killed, is yet another horrifying chapter in the long, bloody saga of violence that continues to plague our country. Men, women, and children were slaughtered in cold blood—lives cut short, families shattered, and entire communities thrown into mourning.
As a newspaper, we cannot and will not remain silent in the face of this atrocity. We unequivocally condemn this barbaric act of inhumanity and the apparent inaction and insensitivity of both the Federal Government and the Benue State Government. Their slow, reactive postures to such recurring bloodshed have emboldened perpetrators and undermined the value of human life in our land.
How many more must die before those in power take real action? How many towns and villages must be razed before our leaders rise above politics and tribal sentiments to fulfill their constitutional responsibility to protect lives and property?
The events in Yelwata are not isolated—they are part of a disturbing pattern of killings, displacements, and lawlessness across Nigeria’s Middle Belt and other vulnerable regions. While statements of “regret” and “condolences” have become routine, the people need decisive, sustained action, not photo opportunities or empty rhetoric.
We must ask: Where is the justice for the slain? Where is the urgent, coordinated response that such a national tragedy demands? Why has it become normal for Nigerians to be buried in mass graves, while their killers walk free and communities remain unprotected?
Enough is enough.
We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the leadership of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to treat the Yelwata massacre as a national emergency. Security agencies must be held accountable for failing to act on intelligence and neglecting their duty to secure this region. We also call on Governor Hyacinth Alia and the Benue State Government to go beyond condemnation and deliver real, lasting protection for their people.
This editorial is a call to conscience from a nation bleeding at the seams. No Nigerian should go to bed uncertain of waking up. No community should live under the constant shadow of terror. The time for excuses has long passed.
We demand justice. We demand security. We demand leadership.
Enough is enough!
