Benue State recorded the most significant decline in food inflation nationwide in May 2025, falling to 22.0% year-on-year from 51.8% in April, even amid ongoing violence and killings in parts of the state.
According to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, the plunge represents a sharp 57.53% drop, the steepest recorded across the country.
Despite the moderation in year-on-year figures, food prices in Benue still rose by 4.1% month-on-month, pointing to persistent short-term supply pressures likely tied to local insecurity and logistical disruptions.
The state’s headline inflation stood at 25.9% year-on-year and 3.1% month-on-month, reflecting a broader cost-of-living challenge.
The NBS report was released amid renewed violence in Benue State, where coordinated attacks by gunmen over the weekend left about 200 people dead. Communities such as Yelewata were overrun, with homes burned and hundreds displaced in what survivors described as one of the deadliest episodes in recent months.
In response, President Bola Tinubu postponed a planned trip to Kaduna and announced he would visit Benue on Wednesday, June 18, to commiserate with victims’ families and assess the scale of destruction firsthand.
At the national level, Nigeria’s headline inflation dropped to 22.97% in May from 23.71% in April, following the rebasing of the CPI to a 2024 base year. This marks a decline from 33.95% recorded in May 2024. Month-on-month, inflation slowed to 1.53%, down from 1.86% in April.
While rebasing has helped ease annual inflation metrics, Nigerians continue to feel the pinch of rising prices month-on-month, especially in states plagued by conflict and flood.