Tsegba Lucy is reeling from unimaginable grief after losing five members of her family—her mother, sister, and three young nieces—during a brutal attack by suspected armed herdsmen on a village in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State.
The assault, which occurred on Friday night, June 13, 2025, has once again cast a dark cloud over the already volatile region. Eyewitnesses say the attackers stormed the community under the cover of darkness, opening fire and torching homes. Tsegba’s family members were trapped in one of the houses and did not make it out alive.
Local vigilante groups and community members reportedly arrived too late to stop the carnage. Tsegba, a student of the Benue State University, confirmed the devastating news via a post on her verified Facebook account, where she wrote: “They’ve killed everything I have. My heart is shattered.” Her post has since gone viral, sparking an outpouring of sympathy and calls for justice.
Residents say this is the fourth attack on the same axis in just two months, with little visible government intervention. The area, close to the Benue-Nasarawa border, has become a recurring target for raids allegedly carried out by armed herders and foreign mercenaries. Despite several security meetings and visits from state officials, communities remain under siege.
Governor Hyacinth Alia had recently acknowledged the difficulty in policing border areas and confirmed intelligence suggesting that several attacks originated from Nasarawa State. However, families like Tsegba’s are losing patience. “How many more have to die before something is done?” a local youth leader asked during a community burial ceremony held on Sunday.
No arrests have been made, and as of press time, the Benue State Police Command has not issued an official statement regarding this specific incident. Meanwhile, groups such as the Tiv Youth Forum and Benue Women in Diaspora are mobilizing to demand an independent investigation into the repeated killings.
The tragedy highlights the staggering cost of unchecked violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. For Tsegba Lucy, the loss is deeply personal—but her story is now resonating far beyond Benue, as Nigerians rally to say: enough is enough.
