Abuja, Nigeria.
The Grassroots Center for Rights & Civic Orientation, a Nigerian advocacy group, has strongly condemned the recent killing of 59 residents in Benue State, describing the attacks as “mindless slaughter” and calling on security agencies to adopt strategies “beyond routine measures.”
In a press statement released on Monday, June 16, 2025, the Abuja-based organisation expressed profound sorrow for the victims of the Yelewata Community attack and other similar incidents across Nigeria.
“The mindless slaughter of people in Yelewata Community is one too many. Now is therefore the time for those charged with the responsibility of securing the nation to put on their thinking caps to end the bloodbath,” read the statement, signed by Executive Director Armsfree Ajanaku. The group lamented that “life has become so cheap in Nigeria.”
The Grassroots Center criticised the government’s current security framework as “flat-footed, and sluggish,” arguing it has been “ineffective” in protecting lives and property. It highlighted a pattern where attackers raid communities, kill residents, and escape, followed by “vague and tepid directives” from authorities.
“The unending cycle of mindless violence in Benue, Plateau, Edo and other epicentres of herdsmen cruelty makes it evident that the current approaches to containing, and retaking the initiative from the killers, have not been effective,” the statement continued. The group also noted a perceived lack of effort by law enforcement agencies in investigating, arresting, and prosecuting perpetrators.
To counter the escalating violence, the Grassroots Center urged security agencies to immediately implement “preventive and early warning approaches” in affected areas. They also stressed the need for “strict surveillance of our porous borders and entry points,” citing reports of over 1200 largely unmonitored entry points into Nigeria.
The organisation also pointed to the role of technology and called for a decentralisation of the security architecture to better protect underserved rural communities. While acknowledging a recent initiative to introduce forest guards, the Center called for its acceleration to provide relief to farming communities bearing the brunt of the attacks.
The statement concluded by reminding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of his 2023 campaign promise to “mobilise the totality of our national security, military and law enforcement assets to protect all Nigerians from danger and from the fear of danger,” urging him to act decisively to fulfil these commitments.
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