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A strong eyewitness account from Yelewata has accused Governor Hyacinth Iormem Alia of deliberately downplaying the June 2025 massacre and diverting the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Hajiya Amina Mohammed, away from the actual sites of the killings.
The account, shared by Engr. Tsekaa Friday Shuur, an independent thinker from Yelewata, claims that while the governor and the UN delegation visited the area, they were not taken to the real locations where residents were massacred, burnt to ashes, and where bones, ashes, bloodstains, and empty bullet shells still remain. Instead, the delegation was shown an incomplete building at the outskirts of the market, where videos were staged to present what the writer described as a “false narrative” to the world.
Shuur alleged that Governor Alia downplayed the death toll, reducing it from over 270 to just 58, and only showed up days later after the issue gained global attention. He criticised the governor for advising residents to farm okra and other vegetables behind their houses and fence them to keep cattle away, describing it as an indirect admission that the lands are no longer safe and have been handed over to killers.
The writer expressed deep disappointment, stating that what was witnessed was not leadership but “a calculated attempt to protect an image while the people suffer in silence.” He noted that the people received far less than the 4 billion naira reportedly donated for victims, with only a permanent IDP camp worth less than 500 million naira provided, while the rest allegedly went down the drain.
Shuur concluded with strong words in the Tiv language, expressing that eternity will right the wrongs and injustices of time, and vowed not to keep quiet about the situation. The account has intensified debates around the handling of the Yelewata tragedy and the governor’s response to the crisis.
