IDP numbers rise to 18,000 on sustained terrorist attacks
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Benue has seen 18,000 new Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the first three weeks in April alone, fuelled by sustained herder attacks against defenceless communities that Governor Samuel Ortom says federal authorities fail to protect.
State Emergency and Management Agency (SEMA) Executive Secretary Emmanuel Shior disclosed the figure during the distribution of relief materials to IDPs, who are effectively refugees in their own land.
Items distributed included 3,500 bags of rice, 800 bags of beans,1,000 cartons of Indomie,1,800 bags of garri, 600 bags of salt, 600 cartons of Maggie Cube, and 1,0000 tubers of yams.
Areas with new IDPs include Otukpo and Apa Councils, Shior said, with 8,000 camped in Adoka and 10,000 in Apa.
“Benue has continued to be under siege for a long time. Recent killings in Benue State have added the burden of taking care of the IDPs,” he lamented, per Tribune.
Shior appealed to the federal government through National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the National Commission for Refugee, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCRMIP) and other partners already on the ground to further support the state.
“They should do more to increase their support. The FG should do more to support the state to put in place plans to return the IDPs [to their homes] as they are tired of staying in camps and in the host communities for over five years. Spirited individuals should also help us.”
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Abuja to repatriate 500K displaced Nigerians from other countries
Some 500,000 displaced Nigerians were awaiting repatriation from Niger Republic, Chad, and Cameroon late last year, said National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons Federal Commissioner, Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim.
“We have almost about 500,000 awaiting repatriation. The next batch will consist of 1,000 people and it is spontaneous returns that are happening now, and we are looking after them as they come back,’’ she announced.
The Presidential Committee on Repatriation in the North East would complement the Technical Working Group on repatriation chaired by the Commission, Suleiman-Ibrahim added.
“It is a process that has been ongoing, and we have started repatriation, we are experiencing involuntary returns from Nigerians in those countries.
“So, it’s going to happen before the end of Mr President’s tenure [in May 2023]. We would have brought everybody back home and there is funding allocated for us.”
Suleiman-Ibrahim made the disclosure at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
She spoke on the sidelines of a High-Level Side Event on “Strengthening Resilience and Sustaining Development: A Humanitarian Development Peace Approach to Leaving No-one Behind’’.