Obi Condoles Yelewata Victims, Pledges ₦10m for Children’s Education

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, on Wednesday visited the Yelewata community in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State to condole with residents over the June 2025 attack that claimed 271 lives.

Accompanied by his running mate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and the party’s Benue governorship candidate, Prof. Terhemba Shija, Obi laid a wreath at the memorial cenotaph (also described as a 14-foot memorial wall) erected in honour of the victims. He knelt in prayer for the dead, their families and the community still grappling with the aftermath of the violence, in which armed invaders killed residents, destroyed homes and displaced many.

The former Anambra governor donated ₦10 million to support the education and welfare of vulnerable and displaced children affected by the massacre. He also pledged to provide a motorised borehole to improve access to potable water in the community. Shija announced an additional ₦2 million specifically for the education of orphans.

Obi assured survivors and residents that protecting lives and property would be a priority of his administration if elected president in 2027. He declared that no Nigerian community should ever experience the kind of bloodshed witnessed in Yelewata, and pledged to prioritise security for agrarian communities while creating business and employment opportunities for young people.

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The visit followed two earlier unsuccessful attempts to reach the community. After addressing residents, Obi and his team proceeded to a town hall meeting in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

The June 13–14, 2025 attack on Yelewata remains one of the deadliest recent incidents in Benue’s Middle Belt region, where farming communities have long faced insecurity. Obi’s visit formed part of his ongoing engagements as the NDC flagbearer ahead of the 2027 elections.