“Hungry and Forgotten”: Benue IDPs Protest on Highway, Demand Return Home Despite First Lady’s ₦1bn Donation

“Hungry and Forgotten”: Benue IDPs Protest on Highway, Demand Return Home Despite First Lady’s ₦1bn Donation

“Hungry and Forgotten”: Benue IDPs Protest on Highway, Demand Return Home Despite First Lady’s ₦1bn Donation

Dozens of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the Maga Camp in Mbayongo, on the outskirts of Makurdi, took to the streets on Tuesday, blocking the busy Makurdi–Lafia highway to demand urgent government intervention in their living conditions.

The demonstrators, wielding tree branches and chanting slogans like “We are hungry” and “We want to go back home,” barricaded the road at the junction leading to their camp, causing heavy gridlock and drawing attention to the dire state of displaced persons in Benue State.

Their protest comes less than 24 hours after Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, visited the state and announced a ₦1 billion donation for the resettlement of IDPs in the state.

One of the protesters, Rebecca Awuse, voiced her frustration:

“We want to go back home. We are hungry and we are tired of staying in the camp where we are not being taken care of.”

However, the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BSEMA) downplayed the protest, attributing it to political manipulation.

According to Tema Ager, BSEMA’s Information Officer:

“The IDPs are not being starved; government is providing food for them… Even when we take food to them in Yelewata, they still come back to the International Market to collect more.”

He further stated:

“The major issue that triggered this protest is politics, all because the First Lady visited yesterday and announced the donation of ₦1 billion. What the First Lady, Mrs Tinubu, announced yesterday cannot happen today and moreover, the money is for resettlement, not for food.”

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Ager confirmed that food distribution was ongoing and noted that the last major distribution prior to the protest took place in May 2025:

“As we speak, food is being distributed to them… but currently, food is being distributed to them across the state.”

Despite government claims, the protest underscores growing frustration among displaced communities who feel neglected in the face of rising humanitarian promises.