The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) have issued scathing condemnations of the massacre of over 200 people in Yelewata and Daudu communities in Benue State’s Guma Local Government Area on June 12-14, 2025, urging President Bola Tinubu to take decisive action.
In separate statements on June 16, the opposition parties criticized Tinubu’s “lethargic” approach to security, accusing his All Progressives Congress (APC) administration of indifference. The PDP, through its National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, alleged the APC’s “complicity” emboldens attackers, noting 600,000 deaths nationwide in two years.
The LP’s Acting National Chairman Nenadi Usman called the bloodshed a “national tragedy,” highlighting burned homes, ambushed soldiers, and 6,527 displaced residents in 2025, 70% from Guma. Both parties demanded Tinubu visit the affected areas, prosecute perpetrators, and end “lame press statements.” Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Senator David Mark echoed the call, warning that citizens may resort to self-defense if the government fails.
The killings, attributed to armed herders, have crippled Benue’s agriculture, with 30% of farmland abandoned, costing N500 billion, per the Ministry of Agriculture. Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun’s June 16 visit and deployment of tactical teams yielded only 20 arrests, per police data. Tinubu’s planned June 18 visit aims for stakeholder dialogue, but the PDP and LP insist only concrete measures—like classifying attackers as terrorists and funding IDP camps—will restore peace.
The opposition commended security forces’ bravery but decried their under-resourcing, with 70% of Benue’s police posts understaffed, per a recent audit. The crisis, rooted in land disputes and climate-driven migration, has displaced 1.5 million in Benue since 2015, with 20 schools closed. As protests erupt in Makurdi, the PDP and LP’s calls for action test Tinubu’s leadership amid mounting pressure for a state of emergency.