Frustrated Benue IDPs demand return to their homes after years of being cramped in unlivable conditions
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
*******************************
Eyewitnesses said the displaced persons, many of whom have spent years in overcrowded IDP camps, were expressing deep frustration over government’s failure to restore security to their communities.
“We have suffered enough. We want to return to our homes and farms,” one of the protesters told reporters at the scene.
*******************************
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue on Wednesday barricaded the Yelewata axis of the highway linking the state with Nasarawa to demand immediate return to their homes, after years of being cramped in tents housing hundreds of pregnant women and thousands of children in unlivable conditions.
The protesters, victims of persistent attacks by Fulani herdsmen, blocked both lanes of the busy highway for several hours, chanted “we want to go back home,” and got hundreds of motorists and passengers stranded.
Eyewitnesses said the displaced persons, many of whom have spent years in overcrowded IDP camps, were expressing deep frustration over government’s failure to restore security to their communities.
“We have suffered enough. We want to return to our homes and farms,” one of the protesters told reporters at the scene.
Security personnel were deployed to monitor the situation and prevent escalation, but tension remained high for hours.
Read also:
