Gunmen killed nearly 7,000 people in Benue between 2023 and 2025

From May 2023 to May 2025:
• 6,896 people killed by gunmen

As of October 2025:
• 464,543 internally displaced people
(Highest in North Central & North West region)

Between May 2023 and May 2025, gunmen killed 6,896 people in Benue State.

According to Statisense, as of October 2025, the violence had forced 464,543 individuals into displacement camps.

Against this backdrop, the state is seeking approval to rehabilitate 400 repentant bandits.

The devastation compared to the pardons is stark.

For every single bandit Benue seeks to rehabilitate, 17 people were killed and over 1,160 people lost their homes.

The policy focuses on 400 perpetrators, but the mathematical legacy of the violence leaves hundreds of thousands of victims behind.