The Benue State Government has spent more than ₦160 million treating internally displaced persons (IDPs) for snake bites in seven months, even as camp leaders accuse authorities of failing to provide regular food supplies and adequate living conditions.
The Executive Secretary of the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), James Iorpuu, disclosed the expenditure on Friday while responding to complaints about the welfare of displaced persons across the state.
Iorpuu said the government had continued to provide healthcare services and distribute relief materials despite dwindling resources and inadequate support from humanitarian partners.
He explained that SEMA had arranged for IDPs to receive medical treatment at the Benue University Teaching Hospital in Makurdi.
“Through this arrangement, this agency has spent more than N160m on healthcare interventions between March and September for snake bites alone,” he said.
He added that the agency had also facilitated treatment for displaced persons suffering from serious illnesses and other medical emergencies.
On food assistance, Iorpuu said SEMA had maintained its monthly distribution programme but acknowledged that the quantity of food available had declined significantly.
He also disclosed that the agency was collaborating with humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), on resettlement-related interventions.
However, leaders of the Agagbe, Daudu and Mega IDP camps painted a grim picture of conditions across the state’s 14 officially recognised camps, citing irregular food distribution, inadequate shelter, poor sanitation, limited healthcare and a lack of livelihood opportunities.
The camp leaders, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, alleged that displaced persons had gone months without receiving food assistance despite government assurances of monthly distributions.
One of the leaders said SEMA summoned them for discussions after learning that IDPs in Makurdi and Guma were considering a protest over the prolonged absence of food supplies.
“Following the engagement, another food distribution was eventually carried out, although it was insufficient compared with the needs of the population. But since the last distribution about four months ago, we have not heard of anything again,” the leader said.
The camp leaders said their greatest concern was the inability to return safely to their ancestral communities, some of which they maintained remained insecure.
“What we are crying for now is how to leave the camp and return to our ancestral homes. Unfortunately, some of those communities are still not safe,” one of them said.
They added that some displaced persons from relatively calmer communities had begun returning periodically to engage in economic activities and support their families.
Meanwhile, Iorpuu dismissed claims that the planned protest was driven primarily by food shortages, alleging that some individuals were encouraging the demonstration over restrictions on visits to the camps.
The contrasting accounts underscore the challenges facing displaced persons in Benue State, where access to food, healthcare, adequate shelter and safe resettlement remains a pressing concern.
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