Nine people died in Benue State on Easter Day after suspected armed herders attacked communities in the Guma Local Government Area. The attacks occurred in the early hours of Sunday, April 17, 2022, when gunmen opened fire on villagers in the settlements of Mbadede, Mbajor, and Mbagbera. Local sources confirmed that the assailants stormed the villages on foot and horseback, setting homes ablaze and shooting residents as they fled. Among the dead was a community vigilante leader, Terkimbi Iyange, who was killed while resisting the attackers.
Survivors reported widespread panic as villagers scattered into nearby forests to escape the violence. Security forces were deployed later in the day, but no arrests were made at the time of reporting. The Benue State government confirmed the fatalities and expressed condolences to the families of the victims. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, and the identity of the gunmen remains unverified. Residents have called for increased military presence in the area, citing recurring violence linked to land disputes between farmers and herders.
The killing of vigilante leader Terkimbi Iyange underscores how local communities are left to bear the brunt of rural insecurity. When attacks occur on Easter Day in multiple villages, it reflects a collapse of early warning and response systems. Nigerians in rural Benue are effectively on their own, forced to defend lives and property without timely state protection. This is not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of unchecked violence in the region.
