In a move, civil society and humanitarian partners are hailing as a turning point for conflict and disaster affected communities, the Benue State Government on Tuesday formally launched its long awaited Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Policy, a comprehensive framework intended to shift the state’s response from short-term relief to durable solutions that restore dignity, livelihoods and long-term stability for thousands uprooted by insecurity and climatic shocks.
The unveiling presented by Governor Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, represented by the Deputy Governor, Barr. Dr. Sam Ode mni positions Benue amongst a growing number of subnational governments in Nigeria that are codifying how they prevent displacement, protect displaced persons, and promote their voluntary, safe and sustainable return, local integration or resettlement. The Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Aondowase Kunde described the policy as more than a bureaucratic document, but a social contract between the state, aid partners and displaced communities that places affected people at the centre of every intervention.
Benue State has for years been contending with waves of displacement triggered by communal clashes, farmer–herder violence, sporadic attacks, and environmental shocks. Those crises have repeatedly pushed whole communities from their farms and homes into camps, public buildings and host communities across multiple local government areas. Government and humanitarian actors have often provided immediate relief food, temporary shelter, and emergency medical care, yet the cycle of displacement has proven stubbornly resilient.
The Alia administration conceived that reactive relief alone will not break this cycle. “What we are launching today is a pathway to end protracted displacement in Benue,” said the Deputy Governor, Barr. Dr. Sam Ode mni at the launch, summarizing the administration’s public message that interventions must now be planned with return, recovery and resilience as explicit goals.
While the full policy text outlines technical provisions and institutional responsibilities, the launch event highlighted several high-impact commitments:
People-centered interventions. The policy commits the state to place IDPs’ expressed needs, safety concerns and rights at the core of programming ensuring participation in decision-making and access to information about assistance and durable solutions.
Clear institutional roles. By clarifying responsibilities across ministries, agencies and local governments with the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management playing central roles, the coordination will be less fragmented and more accountable.
Linking relief to livelihoods. Beyond handing out relief items, the policy emphasizes quick investments in livelihoods and economic rehabilitation. Officials referenced ongoing initiatives such as the allocation of land for demonstration farms and targeted cash assistance, designed to allow displaced families to rebuild income streams and food security.
Durable solutions framework. The policy sets criteria and safeguards for returns, local integration and resettlement insisting returns must be voluntary, informed and safe, and that reintegration support (housing repair, land restitution, psychosocial services) be available before large-scale movement takes place. This approach mirrors global best practice and aligns with initiatives from international agencies working in Nigeria.
Crucially, the launch was not an insular state affair. Humanitarian organizations, including Save the Children, international agencies and local NGOs, were present and pledged continued collaboration. Save the Children representatives described the policy as an important step that formalizes cooperation and allows for more predictable programming including cash assistance and protection services that have already reached vulnerable households in Benue.
The policy’s success will hinge on strong partnership with the federal government, multilateral agencies and local civil society. They also flagged efforts to expand the civic space for civil society by registering and coordinating more grassroots organisations to work on IDP needs, a move that reportedly saw the registration of dozens of NGOs to bolster on-the-ground support.
State officials were careful to point to early, tangible steps as proof the policy is anchored in reality, not merely aspiration. The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) said that, as part of durable-solution pilot activities, 15 households have already been reintegrated into a community in Tyo-Mu, Makurdi, following consultations and support packages designed to stabilize their return.
The Alia Government has acquired hundreds of hectares of land to support demonstration farms, an investment intended to generate employment, provide food security and reduce pressure on displaced families to return to unsafe areas prematurely.
These pilots reflect a pragmatic sequencing: identify willing returnees, ensure security and services in the places of origin or resettlement sites, restore livelihoods and legal access to land, and then scale up the model. This sequence can reduce relapse into displacement and rebuild confidence among affected communities.
Civil society actors at the launch stressed the importance of robust monitoring mechanisms, independent oversight and public reporting to ensure the policy does not become a vehicle for partisan patronage or selective assistance.
They recommended that third-party monitoring, community feedback channels and clear complaint and redress mechanisms be embedded in the policy’s rollout to guarantee fairness and build trust.
The launch of the Benue State IDP Policy marks a critical moment in the state’s response to recurrent displacement. By codifying commitments to protection, participation and livelihoods and by signaling a shift from episodic relief to planned, durable solutions the Alia administration has offered a roadmap that will reduce the human and economic toll of displacement across Benue.
James Msughter Adzande is the
Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media (Cabinet Office)
Sustenance will require consistent political will, predictable funding, credible partnerships, and the patient work of rebuilding trust between communities and the institutions meant to serve them. For displaced Benue residents, the promise of the policy by Governor Alia is clear: not merely to survive the next emergency, but to return, rebuild and live with dignity.
