More than two months after President Bola Tinubu visited Yelwata in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State following a deadly attack that left scores dead, residents say the community remains abandoned and devastated.
Victor Aleva, president of Mzough U Tiv UK (MUTUK), disclosed this on Wednesday during a live interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
He said he visited Yelwata on Saturday, August 30, and found the community in the same state it was left after the killings of June 13 and 14.
“As I speak, nothing has changed,” Aleva said, stressing that his account was based on what he saw, not on political sentiments.
He dismissed reports that 26 suspects had been arrested and paraded by the police as masterminds of the killings.
“That is a lie,” he said. “This is more than two months after the incident… Where are the people?”
The attack on Yelwata, a border town between Benue and Nasarawa States, claimed at least 100 lives, with some reports putting the death toll closer to 200.
Most of the victims were internally displaced persons who had taken refuge at the local market.
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Homes were burnt, properties destroyed, and survivors forced to scatter across neighbouring communities.
During his visit to Benue on June 18, President Tinubu had directed security chiefs, including the Inspector General of Police, to ensure the arrest of the perpetrators.
He also called for the creation of a peace committee to restore calm to the troubled area. Days later, the police announced the arrest of 26 suspects, parading them publicly as those behind the massacre.
Aleva, however, insists that there has been no visible action on the ground. According to him, Yelwata remains desolate, with displaced families still waiting for relief, resettlement, and justice.
The Yelwata killings drew national and international condemnation at the time, with rights groups and security experts warning that political visits without follow-up action would only deepen the sense of neglect.
Observers say the situation in the community highlights the gap between government promises and the realities faced by victims of violence in Nigeria’s North-Central region.