April 2022 Benue State killings

The attacks targeted villages in three LGAs. The first attack was in the village of Semaka around 9pm on April 11, and killed five Christian civilians and injured over ten others.^[3][4] The perpetrators fled on bikes, and then attacked the villages of Tyotugh and Gaambetiev in Guma LGA.^[5] Nine people were killed in Tyotugh, and fifteen in Gaambetiev, although the exact death toll is not known due to some people being killed after fleeing into the forest.^[3][5] One of the bodies was Chief Unongo Shaayange of the Logo LGA.^[5] The perpetrators were not immediately caught.

In a protest against the perpetrators, angered civilians from the attacked villages stacked the bodies of the slain villagers on the Makurdi-Gboko highway and blocked traffic.^[3] The confrontation ended after an intervention by the Benue State Police Commissioner.^[4]

Governor Samuel Ortom the next day reiterated statements for civilians to defend themselves against bandits and herdsmen.^[6] The Security Adviser to Ortom, Lt. Col. Paul Hemba, stated that the death toll was likely to increase as bodies were still being found.^[5]

Twelve kidnappers were caught in January 2023, alleged to be involved with the April 12 killings.^[7]