By Nwabueze Okonkwo

Onitsha – Human rights lawyer, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has condemned the persistent killings in Benue State and other parts of Nigeria, describing the situation as a national disgrace and a tragic reflection of failed leadership.

In a press statement titled “The Stench of Slaughter in Benue – Whose Agenda Is This?” and shared with journalists via WhatsApp, Ejiofor expressed outrage over the most recent massacre in Yelewata community, Benue State, where more than 100 people, including women, children, and the elderly, were reportedly killed by suspected armed Fulani herdsmen.

“These Nigerians were not combatants on a battlefield,” Ejiofor stated. “They were sleeping peacefully in their ancestral homes, butchered in the dead of night. What manner of evil drives such carnage?”

The lawyer questioned the silence and inaction of security agencies, especially given that top security chiefs were reportedly operating from Benue State at the time of the attack.

“What has Nigeria become when her citizens are hunted like game, and those constitutionally entrusted with the monopoly of force remain deafeningly silent?” he asked.

Ejiofor further raised concerns over what he termed a pattern of “criminal negligence or complicity wrapped in official silence.” He challenged government authorities to clarify their role and intentions in light of the recurring violence and inadequate response.

“Are we being told the truth—or has leadership become so desensitized that mass murder is now reduced to cold statistics in press releases?” he queried.

He warned that if such atrocities are allowed to continue unchecked, it would send a dangerous message that ethnic cleansing and the displacement of communities are being normalized.

“We must speak now—or history will record our silence as complicity. Benue is bleeding. Nigeria is decaying. The center has not merely collapsed; it is rotting from within.”

Ejiofor called for justice for the victims and accountability from those in power.

“To the victims, we owe more than pity—we owe remembrance and, above all, justice. To the perpetrators—we demand consequences. And to those in power, we demand truth, accountability, and decisive action,” he concluded.