The planned return of the over 3,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the Yelwata community currently taking temporary refuge at the Ultramodern International Market in Makurdi has been cancelled.

The IDPs moved out of their homes after the June 13, 2025, armed herdsmen attack on the Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State that claimed over 200 lives.

They have been residing in the camp for over two weeks, and it was reliably gathered that the government had set in motion modalities to have them return back home on Saturday, July 5, but that plan was abruptly cancelled after most of the IDPs rejected the plan.

One of the IDPs, who identified himself as Kator, could not hide his anger over the plan, insisting that as much as they want to return home to continue with their normal lives, that axis of the state was still not safe for most of them to return.

According to him, “Most of us want to return home, but we do not want to return and get killed by armed herdsmen. Just two days ago they killed three people in Ukohol, and just before that they also killed four policemenat Udei; these are communities that are next door.

“Which means that nobody can be sure of his or her safety if we return home today. We want to go back home, but our community should be safe enough for us to return back. That is why we do not want to move back when the area is not conducive in terms of safety.”

Reacting, the Head of Administration at the Benue State Emergency Management Agency, BSEMA, Dr. Donald Komgbenda, explained that the move to return the IDPs on Saturday, June 5, had been cancelled following an uncertain security situation in that axis of the state.

Dr. Komgbenda said, “The issue is that the security situation in that community is not clear. The last time we went there, it was the community leaders that told the government that they wanted their people to return back.

“So when we went there to carry out our assessment, we discovered that the IDPs themselves were not consulted, and one of the chiefs said that it was because they felt that their people were not being taken care of that they asked for their return.

“And like I said when I spoke with you sometime past, we needed to profile them at the time before responding to their needs. So soon after that time, they are being taken good care of after they were all profiled.

But shortly after, four police officers were killed around the place, and another day, about three or four persons were also killed within that area. So the situation in the environment is not clear. And as a humanitarian principle, you can open a camp, but you do not have the control to just close it.

“The people have to voluntarily decide for themselves to leave. You cannot force them back home. If you take the people back and something happens, the government would be held responsible.

“So we held a meeting this afternoon and agreed that the movement would be voluntary while we make alternative arrangements. But we have not made any conclusive decision yet.

So it is within their rights to reject any move to return them back to their community. What caused their displacement is still not cleared out. And at the same time there is an assertion from that axis that when that attack happened, it was the people that were already having security crises in their communities that ran to find safety in Yelewata that were more affected. So there is the feeling in the community that the environment is not yet conducive for their return.

“The initial plan was to take them home today. But the central point there is that the security situation is not clear. That is the major issue.

“The Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management has already been briefed on the implication of that. But as it is now, anybody that wants to leave and return will be allowed to do so; we will not object to that.” (Vanguard)