By Nkechi Eze
Former Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Botwev Orhii, has strongly condemned the gruesome killing of over 200 innocent civilians in Yelewata community, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, describing the act as “barbaric, inhuman, and satanic.”
In an emotionally charged reaction, Dr. Orhii said the heinous attack allegedly carried out by suspected armed Fulani herdsmen represents yet another dark chapter in the unrelenting wave of violence sweeping across Benue. The victims, he noted, were mostly vulnerable women, children, and elderly men who had no means of defending themselves.
“It is heartbreaking and unconscionable,” he said. “The level of savagery displayed in Yelewata and similar communities across the state is beyond comprehension. People of conscience must rise with one voice and condemn these atrocities.”
Dr. Orhii expressed deep regret that despite individual expressions of concern by prominent elders and community leaders in Benue, a united and coordinated front has yet to be formed to confront the ongoing carnage.
He called on leaders of thought, traditional rulers, and other stakeholders in the state to actively engage with both state and federal governments in order to find sustainable and effective solutions to the recurring violence that has ravaged the once peaceful region.
“Benue State was once known as the Food Basket of the Nation,” Dr. Orhii lamented. “Today, it has been tragically reduced to a Hobbesian landscape where life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short, owing to the unprovoked aggression from criminal armed herdsmen.”
Extending his heartfelt condolences to the Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, the bereaved families, and the entire people of the state, Dr. Orhii described the massacre as a monumental loss that must not be allowed to repeat itself.
While commending current efforts by government to improve security and roll out humanitarian support, he stressed the urgent need for additional grassroots-based interventions. He advocated for the immediate training of local citizens in self-defence and the establishment of community-based security groups to serve as the first line of civilian defence against external attacks.
“Government must urgently adopt both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies, comprehensive and holistic approaches to confront this hydra-headed menace,” he said.
Dr. Orhii’s call echoes growing public demand for greater protection of lives and property in Benue and across Nigeria’s conflict-prone regions, where rural communities remain increasingly vulnerable to violent attacks.
