May 22, (THEWILL) – The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has raised the alarm about the bleak possibility of Internally Displaced Persons in Benue State returning to their ancestral homes due to continuous insecurity in areas of origin.
The Associate Protection Officer and Head of the UNHCR, Makurdi field Unit, Miss Irene Babo, made the disclosure on Wednesday, at a three-day workshop in Makurdi for relevant stakeholders in the state.
The workshop, organised by the UNDP and UNHCR, in collaboration with the Benue State Task Force Committee on Durable Solutions, drew participants from various fields, including four Council chairmen from the affected areas, security agencies, Academia from Benue State University, CSOs, UN agencies, NGOs and host communities.
“In some instances, returnees have been subjected to severe human rights abuses such as killings, gender-based violence such as rape and other forms of harm, including torture, leading to secondary displacements and increased orphans,” she said.
According to her, the continued conflicts without the timely intervention of key stakeholders have led to limited opportunities for return to places of origin or resettlements and reintegration into new communities.
Miss Babo reaffirms UNHCR’s commitment to bridging the humanitarian-development divide, leaving no one behind, enabling transformative and enabling solutions for IDPs in Benue State.
“Over the years, UNHCR has been extremely worried about the worsening situation and the resulting spike in humanitarian needs and forced displacement owing to the security situation in Benue State.
“As of 2018, when the RC inter-agency assessment was conducted, Benue had recorded 5 LGAs affected by herders’ crisis, however, it has now recorded 13 LGAs out of the 23 LGAs in the state,” she stated.
She said despite the situation, like the saying, the African child is everyone’s child, the state is commended for its hospitality to 12,000 refugees in the Ikyogen settlement and host communities with IDPs.
In his remarks, Governor Hyacinth Alia, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr. Sam Odeh, urged participants to be diligent in the workshop so as to put to rest the issue of IDPs in the state.
He said, “It is the desire of the Benue State Government that, in a few months from now, IDPs should return to their ancestral homes.”
Doctor Odeh, therefore, called on IOM and UNHCR among others to sustain support to the Benue State Government to achieve its set goals.
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