Over 200,000 IDPs return home in Benue

NO fewer than 200,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue State have returned to their ancestral home.

Force Commander, Operation Whirl Stroke, Major General Adeyemi Yekini, who stated this yesterday further said that over 35,000 of the IDPs in Nasarawa and Taraba States, have also returned home to celebrate the Christmas.

General Yekini said that with the adequate security in the three operation states there is no intention of the IDPs to go back to camps again.

The OPWS Commander.revealed this during a media tour of some of the villages in Benue and Nasarawa states.

According to him: “It may interest you to know that Benue alone, over 200,000 persons have returned home after the security intervention in their communities.

“We have 15,000 and 20,000 persons in Nasarawa and Taraba States respectively who have returned homes. As at now, the whole Joint Operation Area (JOA) has been largely cleared of all armed criminals.

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“What we have done is to establish patrol bases to be able to cover all areas as much as possible from where troops go out on daily basis to cover all flashpoints. Of course, people who have seen war will always be afraid but we will continue to try our best.

“The OPWS had recently done new deployment of more troupes to some areas considered as flashpoint so to further strengthen the security in those areas and encourage more IDPs go return home”, Gen. Yekini explained.

During the tour, our correspondent observed that thousands of IDPs have actually returned to their homes with farming as well as socio-economic activities already picked up in areas visited.

Commander, Guma Sector 1, Squadron Leader Victor Ajeye disclosed that 141,864 IDPs have so far returned home in five council wards of Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

Some of the council wards visited during the tour include Mabai, Mbadwen, Mbaye Yandav, Nyiev and Mbawa all in Guma local government area of Benue.

The team also passed through the border area of Barkin Kota Keana and headed straight to Giza in Nasarawa state before visiting Udei and Yogbo Communities of Benue State.