Christopher Musa, Nigeria’s chief of defence staff, has said that soldiers deployed to protect Yelewata community in Benue state were deliberately misled by false intelligence before the deadly attack that left over 200 people dead.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Musa revealed that troops stationed in Yelewata on the day of the attack were diverted by reports of an assault in another nearby village. As the soldiers moved out in response to the alert, armed assailants launched a coordinated and devastating assault on Yelewata and neighbouring Daudu in Guma Local Government Area.
“There was a fake attack in the other village. When the troops moved in, that’s when they [the attackers] came to hit the actual target,” Musa said.
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The defence chief accused certain residents of colluding with the attackers, alleging that some community members provided critical intelligence on the movement of troops — including the number of vehicles and soldiers — to those who carried out the massacre.
“Because of the insider information, the troops were actually there [before the attack]. But as they were being misdirected, the attackers were receiving updates on their movement,” he explained.
Musa also questioned how the attackers knew exactly where to strike, pointing out that the areas set ablaze were specifically where internally displaced persons (IDPs) had been sheltering.
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“The places they burnt were targeted. They knew where the IDPs were. The question is: how did they know this if there weren’t people among the communities giving them the information?”
He further alleged that some locals had been complicit beyond providing intelligence. “Some of them are harbouring these attackers, feeding them, even offering them women,” he said grimly.
The June 14 attack on Yelewata and Daudu sparked widespread national outrage. The scale of the killings — with estimates placing the death toll at over 200 — prompted president Bola Tinubu to make an emergency visit to the state on June 18 to assess the situation and meet with survivors and local leaders.
Calls have since grown louder for increased protection in the north-central region, where clashes between armed herders and farming communities have escalated in recent years. Human rights groups and community leaders have accused the government of failing to prevent repeated waves of violence, despite mounting casualties.
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The military has promised to intensify operations in the affected areas. But Thursday’s revelations have further exposed the deep-rooted challenges in Nigeria’s fight against insurgency and rural violence — particularly the issue of compromised local support and the risks of infiltration from within.
