The trial of nine suspects accused of the 2025 Yelwata massacre in Benue State was again stalled at the Federal High Court in Abuja Wednesday, following another adjournment.
The adjournment followed a request by counsel to the 8th and 9th defendants, Y.A. Hassan, who informed the court that it was his first appearance in the matter.
Hassan appealed for a short adjournment, explaining that he was yet to familiarise himself with the facts of the case, as the previous counsel representing the defendants had not transferred the case file to him.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, did not oppose the application but urged the court to grant a brief date.
While granting the adjournment, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik warned that the matter is of significant public interest and that the court will not tolerate unnecessary delays going forward.
Justice Abdulmalik stated that the court was “bending over backwards” to accommodate the defence and adjourned the matter to March 9 and 10 for day-to-day trial.
On February 2, the Federal Government had arraigned some suspects arrested and linked to the killings in Yelwata before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
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The suspects were arraigned on a 57-count charge.
They pleaded not guilty when the counts were read to them through an interpreter.
The AGF asked for an accelerated trial, and the defendants were remanded to a correctional center, pending the commencement of the trial.
Counsel for the first, eighth, and ninth defendants asked for an oral bail application.
The Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, said eight witnesses were ready to testify at the trial.
However, Justice Abdulmalik ordered that they be remanded at Kuje Correctional Centre pending trial.
The case was adjourned to February 26 and 27 for trial.
Earlier, the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice assured Nigerians that justice would be served in the matter, sending a strong signal to enemies of the country acting under any disguise.
“The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to the protection of the lives and properties of all as enshrined in the constitution,” the statement by Kamarudeen Ogundele, the SA to the AGF and Minister of Justice, read.
He said this came after a “painstaking investigation and collaboration by government agencies.”
Yelwata Attack
In June 2025, gunmen attacked the Yelwata community in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, killing scores and leaving hundreds displaced.
The incident sparked a major protest and widespread condemnation.
Security agencies announced that they had arrested some people in connection with the attacks.
A survivor of the Yelwata attack, Msurshima Apeh, told the United States Congress how she watched the killing of her five children during the onslaught.
“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,” she told the House Subcommittee on Africa, which examined President Donald Trump’s decision to return Nigeria to the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list in November 2026.
Tinubu had visited the state in the wake of the incident and asked security operatives to go after the masterminds.
“Police, I hope your men are on alert to listen to information. How come no arrest has been made? I expect there should be an arrest of those criminals,” Tinubu had said at the Benue Government House in Makurdi, the capital, during a stakeholders meeting.
The attack added to the series of violence recorded in the state, including the killing of four people in the Otobi community, including a House of Assembly candidate for Otukpo-Akpa State Constituency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general election, Igbabe Ochi.
