Nigerian prosecutors on Monday filed 57 terrorism-related charges against nine men accused of carrying out a June 2025 attack on a farming community in central Nigeria that left around 150 people dead, court documents showed.
The charges were lodged at the Federal High Court in Abuja and relate to a raid on Yelwata village in Benue state’s Guma district, one of the deadliest rural attacks in recent years.
Benue lies in Nigeria’s volatile Middle Belt, a region long plagued by violence linked to disputes over land, religion and ethnicity between farming and pastoralist communities. Authorities have struggled for years to contain the bloodshed.
According to prosecutors, the suspects held planning meetings, raised funds, procured weapons and mobilised fighters across multiple states ahead of the June 13 assault. The charge sheet names Ardo Lawal Mohammed Dono as the alleged ringleader, accusing him and others of meeting in neighbouring Nasarawa state to issue orders, recruit fighters and coordinate logistics.
Several of the defendants are accused of supplying AK-47 rifles, aiding the attackers or providing locations used to plan the operation. Prosecutors said the raid involved the burning of homes and resulted in heavy civilian casualties.
Nigeria has faced mounting pressure to improve security amid persistent Islamist attacks and mass kidnappings. The issue drew international attention last year after U.S. President Donald Trump accused Nigerian authorities of failing to protect Christian communities. In December, U.S. forces carried out strikes on what they described as terrorist targets, while Nigerian officials said they were cooperating with Washington to bolster security efforts.