I watched my five children’s murder – Yelwata attack victim to US Congress

Msurshima Apeh, a survivor of the Yelwata attack in Benue State, has recounted the horror of watching her five children get slaughtered during the ordeal.

The Yelwata attack took place in June 2025 in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue State when bandits murdered between 100 to 200 people, leaving 3,000 displaced.

Testifying on Thursday before the  House Subcommittee on Africa, which examined President Donald Trump’s decision to return Nigeria to the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list, Apeh recalled the moment armed men stormed the camp where hundreds of displaced families had been sleeping.

“When we went to sleep that night around 9 pm, the Fulani terrorists attacked us where we were sleeping. We were locked inside the camp, Yelwata, and they were butchering them with cutlasses and shooting guns as well.

“When the torture had finished at some point in time, they poured petrol on the building and the majority of them were set ablaze,” she said virtually from her base in Benue State.

“In the course of this action, I saw a tree when I lifted my eyes. I raised my hands on the tree and climbed up where I was able to hide myself. My five children that I left below were crying, and in my presence, they were being slaughtered by the terrorists.

“I ran out into the bush at some point, and those who came for rescue will now bring me out of that place at some point, and I was able to witness the whole drama. When the people came, we were now relocated to a new camp,” she recounted.