Survivor of Yelwata Massacre Testifies Before U.S. Congress, Recounts Horror of Losing Five Children
A survivor of the June 2025 Yelwata attack in Benue State, Nigeria, has given a harrowing testimony before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa, describing how she watched her five children being killed during a brutal night raid.
Msurshima Apeh, appearing virtually from Benue, told U.S. lawmakers that armed men, described in her testimony as “terrorists”, stormed the camp where displaced families were sleeping. She said the attackers used cutlasses and firearms, and poured petrol on the buildings before setting them ablaze.
Recalling the terror, Apeh said she hid in a tree as her children cried below, unable to escape. In her own words:
“My five children … in my presence, they were being slaughtered.”
Afterward, she fled into the bush and was later rescued and relocated to another camp.
The Yelwata attack, which occurred in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, is believed to have killed between 100 and 200 people, according to multiple reports. Thousands were displaced.
Human rights groups and advocacy organisations have raised strong concerns about the Nigerian government’s security response to the violence.
During the congressional hearing, lawmakers also examined Washington’s October decision to re‑list Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC), citing pervasive religious persecution.
Earlier this year, the Nigerian Senate declared the Yelwata killings “acts of terrorism.”
Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters in Abuja has denied any internal sabotage within the military during the massacre.
As the world hears from survivors like Apeh, calls for justice and greater international scrutiny of Nigeria’s security challenges are intensifying.