Benue to close IDP camps as displaced persons return home

Governor Hyacinth Alia has announced plans to close some IDP camps in Benue as improved security has enabled many displaced persons to voluntarily return home and resume farming.

Governor Hyacinth Alia has announced plans to close some Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Benue as a result of improved security in the state. Alia made the announcement during a media chat with the Renewed Hope Ambassadors Presidential Media Team, led by Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Strategy.

Alia said improved security, supported by Federal Government intervention, had created relative peace, enabling many displaced persons to voluntarily return home and resume farming. He said security indices were being monitored through security agencies deployed across the LGAs, traditional institutions and residents, who provided useful information on developments within their communities.

The governor recalled that 15 IDP camps had been established across the state following attacks and displacement. He noted that the improved security situation was gradually changing the narrative. “We are already making some plans to close down some because the IDP occupants have voluntarily gone back to do their farming,” Alia said.

The announcement is a rare piece of good news from Benue, a state that has been synonymous with displacement and violence. The fact that displaced persons are returning home and resuming farming is a sign that the security situation is improving. However, the closure of IDP camps must be managed carefully to ensure that returnees are not forced to flee again.

This echoes the 2018 return of displaced persons in the North-east, which also saw IDP camps closed as security improved. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a tentative return to normalcy.

The winners: the displaced persons who have returned home; and the Benue State Government, which has overseen the improvement in security. The losers: the Nigerian government, which must ensure that the gains are sustained; and the Nigerian public, who must hope that the peace holds.

Bottom Line: Benue is closing IDP camps as displaced persons return home. The security situation is improving. The question is whether the peace will last or the violence will resume.