Charred bodies, shattered lives after gunmen kill 100 in Nigeria

The assailants struck at night and drove farmer Fidelis Adidi from the central Nigerian community of Yelwata. The following morning he came back to discover the burned remains of one of his two spouses and four of his kids.

They resided in a room he rented in the market to protect them from a surge of conflicts between cattle herders and farmers in the Middle Belt area of the country. His second spouse and another child were severely injured during the attack that started on Friday night and, as reported by Amnesty International, resulted in about 100 fatalities in the town within the Benue region.

In a different area of the market, charred bodies were found beyond identification alongside scorched heaps of agricultural tools and food. Officials have faced challenges in controlling the violence that has boiled for years, driven by competition for land along with ethnic and religious divides.

President Bola Tinubu, who described the recent increase in attacks as “depressing” on Monday, is scheduled to visit Benue on Wednesday, marking his first trip there since he took office two years ago.

Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency announced it is collaborating with aid organizations to assist at least 3,000 individuals forced from their homes due to the unrest in an area where the majority Muslim north intersects with the mainly Christian south.

Market trader Talatu Agauta, expecting her second child, escaped when the assailants arrived on Friday night and sought safety in the state capital Markudi. She returned over the weekend to discover that 40 bags of her rice were charred. A crushing setback, yet insufficient to force her away from her residence.