Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has donated ₦10 million in educational support for children in Yelewata, the Benue State community devastated by the 2025 attacks, according to a Channels TV report published on Wednesday, November 11, 2026. The former Anambra State governor also gave the community a borehole to tackle its water scarcity problem.
Speaking to victims and survivors during the visit, Obi assured them that their safety would be guaranteed if he becomes President. Channels TV reported that he told the crowd no Nigerian community would again be massacred the way Yelewata was.
A visit that took a while to happen
The trip to Yelewata did not come easily. According to the report, Obi was earlier denied access to the community on April 14, 2025, and on September 8, 2026, youths blocked his convoy. This latest visit allowed him to finally meet the people affected by the killings face to face.
The Yelewata attacks, which took place on June 13, 2025, claimed 271 lives, Channels TV said. The tragedy shook Benue State, a part of Nigeria's North Central region long troubled by deadly violence against farming communities, and left the community mourning on a massive scale.
Wreath at the memorial wall
After speaking to the crowd, Obi went on to lay a wreath at a 14-foot memorial wall built in honour of the 271 people who died in the attack. The wall stands as a reminder of the scale of the loss suffered by the community.
Town hall in Makurdi
From Yelewata, Obi and his entourage headed to Makurdi, the Benue State capital, where they were received for a town hall meeting. There, the NDC flagbearer laid out more of his campaign promises.
According to Channels TV, he pledged to open up business opportunities for young Nigerians and to protect people working in agriculture, a sector that has borne the brunt of insecurity in states like Benue. He also promised to put an end to the practice of needing connections before landing a job in the public sector, a frustration many young Nigerians know too well.
Why it matters
Yelewata has become a symbol of the insecurity crisis in Benue, and the visit places security for rural and farming communities at the centre of Obi's message to voters. His earlier failed attempts to reach the community made this trip especially notable, with the donation and the memorial wreath marking his first reported direct engagement with survivors on the ground.
The details of the visit, including the donation figures and the dates of the earlier access issues, come from a single media report and have not been independently confirmed.
