Life getting better in camps — Benue IDPs

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue State have expressed optimism for a peaceful future on Monday, noting improvements in their living conditions at the Ichuwa camp in Makurdi.

While celebrating the National Day for Internally Displaced Persons, many IDPs acknowledged that life in the camp has become more manageable, largely due to recent governmental and NGO interventions.

Gideon Tyobee, who has lived in the camp for four years with his wife and four children, said their living conditions at the Ichuwa were terrible until the emergence of Governor Hyacinth Alia to power.

“We passed through hell; we were not recognised until Governor Alia came to power and brought many NGOs, including the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which has helped us tremendously,” Tyobee said.

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Mimidoo Kiva, a widow and mother of three, expressed gratitude for the government’s efforts to ease their plight since being displaced from Tse-Nule village in Guma LGA.

“Things were hard; life wasn’t easy here until the current government began to support us. Now, our camp has been recognised, and the IOM has provided us with significant relief,” Kiva said.

As part of the day’s celebrations, the IDPs held a commemorative event with dancing and expressed their desire for improved security in their hometowns so they could eventually return.

In her address, IOM Head of Sub-office, Mediatrice Barengayabo, commended the resilience of the displaced persons.

Barengayabo attributed the progress in the camps to the Benue government’s support, the Benue Rapid Response Fund, and coordination with the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and Humanitarian Affairs.

SEMA’s Executive Secretary, Sir James Iorpuu, led a moment of silence for those lost in violent attacks. He emphasised the government’s commitment to resettling all IDPs in their ancestral homes.