Yelewata tragedy: Benue channels N1.275b into relief, rehabilitation, resettlement

2026-03-02 - 15:47

By Peter Duru, Makurdi The Benue state government has provided fresh details on how it deployed the N1.275billion donated for victims of the June 13, 2025 Yelewata attack, highlighting progress in relief delivery, rehabilitation and phased resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Briefing journalists Monday in Makurdi, Secretary to the State Government and Chairman of the Technical Committee on Implementation of Donations, Mrs. Deborah Iber, said the intervention followed the visit of President Bola Tinubu, who assessed the damage and pledged stronger security measures. She stated that the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, donated N1billion during her visit, while the Nasarawa State Government contributed N150million, United Bank for Africa N100million and the Director-General of the DSS N25million, bringing the total to N1.275billion. Mrs. Iber said Governor Hyacinth Alia constituted a multi-agency technical committee to ensure transparent use of the funds. “Our assignment was to identify the real needs of the displaced persons and their host communities and respond accordingly,” she stated. She explained that IDP representatives were invited to Makurdi to outline their priorities. “We wanted the people to tell us what they needed, not for government to assume,” she said, adding that the committee also mapped beneficiaries to ensure targeted support. She explained that the needs identified covered food, shelter, healthcare, education, water and livelihoods. Although the donations were triggered by the Yelewata attack, she noted that the assistance was extended to other displaced communities, with Yelewata given priority. Under the cash transfer scheme, N56.325million was approved, with N50,000 paid per household through the state owned Novus Bank. According to her, the programme achieved “about 90 percent success,” with pending cases linked to documentation challenges such as incomplete NIN registration. For food and nutrition, she stated that N224.5million was allocated and distribution carried out by the State Emergency Management Agency beginning in December 2025. Shelter support included mattresses, clothing and other non-food items for affected families. In the health sector, N112.25million funded a clinic at the International Market camp and enabled the enrollment of 5,883 IDPs into the Benue State Health Insurance Scheme, with N10,000 premium paid per beneficiary. “This guarantees them access to medical care,” Mrs. Iber noted. Addressing water shortages, the committee allocated N125.325million to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH, projects, including three boreholes in Yelewata and water reticulation to resettlement areas. She added that a water treatment plant built in Naka with European Union support and implemented by IOM was recently commissioned, ending decades of water scarcity in the town. Education interventions, backed by N148.175million, led to the construction of four classrooms in Yelewata, procurement of learning materials and the establishment of a makeshift school at the camp. Agricultural support, she said, provided seedlings, pesticides and training in improved farming techniques to help the IDPs rebuild their means of livelihood. On resettlement, which received N277.35million, Mrs. Iber disclosed that 60 housing units are under construction in Yelewata. “Thirty-eight are at roofing stage, three already roofed, and only five have not reached that level,” she said, stressing that the homes would allow gradual relocation of families to safer areas near their ancestral lands. “Our objective is to restore dignity and help our people return to normal life,” she added.