- There are at least 510,182 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Benue
- Terrible conditions of IDP camp
- The most vulnerable children and pregnant women
The Nigerian authorities must take urgent measures to avoid humanitarian disasters in central Benue state, where gunmen attacks displaced at least 500,000 people, many of whom were walled in dirty camps without adequate water, poor hygiene, food and health care, but Amnesty International said.
In the latest June 14 attack, gunmen raided the town of Yaluta, killing more than 100 people and forcing more than 3,941 people to flee their homes. After the attack, the smell of decomposing bodies hangs in the air during Amnesty International’s visit to the affected communities. The recent signs of violence seem obvious, with bullets thrown to the ground, and the large grave of the deceased was dug out.
Survivors were seen carrying a bag of grain, bundles of firewood and other household items as they sought safety and shelter (IDP) in the camp. According to interviews with the temporary IDP Camp at Gwer West, Agatu, Ukum, Kwande, Logo, Guma and Makurdi IDP camps and Makurdi Modern Market, the communities under attack usually only reach the security forces after the gunman leaves.
The Nigerian authorities failed the people of Benu State again and again. The rampant attacks of gunmen have caused thousands of people to lose their right to life, physical integrity, freedom, freedom of movement and livelihood. These tragic attack survivors face a cheesy situation, since they are open-air, and they are open-air homeless, and they are rich and incredible. Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.
“This situation has the potential to cause a humanitarian disaster and the authorities must urgently address it by providing urgently needed assistance to ensure people’s basic needs.”
In addition to interviews with IDP, Amnesty International also spoke with camp officials, medical staff and NGOs in affected areas. It found that communities including Gwer West, Gwer-East, Gwer-East, Gwer-East, Agatu, Apa, Ukum, Kwande, Logo and Guma continue to face cruel patterns of violence.
This is usually released at night, and although the gunman systematically surpasses the village, he uses a gun to perform unselected or targeted kills from a distance. This is accompanied by cruel close-range violence, machetes and knives that cause serious injuries, including manual amputation.
The Nigerian authorities failed the people of Benu State again and again.
Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria
The pain of IDP camp
As of December 31, 2024, an estimated 500,182 people fled to IDPS camps in Benue to escape years of attacks by gunmen. More than 10,000 people have been displaced since early 2025 after Gwer West, Agatu, Ukum (Gbagir), Kwande (Anwase), Logo and Guma (Yelewata, Agan and Gbajimba) attacked the community.
Amnesty International’s visit to IDP camps demonstrates that shelters are totally inadequate, exposing internally displaced persons to bad weather, overcrowding, increased risk of disease, and gender-based violence, including rape and domestic violence.
Access to health care is also a major challenge in IDP camps, with the lack of treatment for the most common diseases and conditions such as malaria, typhoid fever and gastric ulcers. According to a camp official, delivery occurs almost every day in IDP camps, and many pregnant women need medical care but are infected due to insufficient sanitation facilities.
“If we don’t have drugs, we just sit down and look at the patient helplessly,” IDP told Amnesty International.
Many children cannot exercise their right to camp education.
“Our children are no longer in school and the authorities have not arranged to teach children at IDP camps. The government should end the insecurity in our local government areas and Benue states. Until then, provide us with food and proper shelter at IDP camps.”
A camp official told Amnesty International that one of the temporary schools built at one of the camps had been closed for more than three years because camp authorities were unable to continue to pay stipends to temporary teachers.
Hundreds of minors fled their homes due to attacks and now have no care for their parents. Children are separated from their families as they flee the attack on villages and communities. Authorities are unable to provide safe and basic services to these vulnerable children. Two women IDPs told Amnesty International:
The ongoing failure of the authorities to hold suspicious perpetrators accountable has exacerbated a cycle of impunity and made everyone feel unsafe. Authorities must now end the growing culture of impunity culture against these attacks.
Possible
“When we arrived, they [my children] left. I don’t know where they went. I can’t talk to them; I don’t have a phone call… I have 8 kids and because we didn’t have enough space in the IDP camp, many of them left me and I don’t know where they are. ”
Amnesty International calls on Nigerian authorities to take immediate measures to provide adequate and accessible humanitarian support to survivors of these attacks. The authorities must take measures to domesticate and effectively implement the African Union Convention to protect and assist internally displaced persons within the country’s legal system.
“The ongoing failure of the authorities to make the persistent existence of suspicious perpetrators has fueled a cycle of impunity, which makes everyone feel unsafe. The authorities must now end the growing culture of impunity culture against these attacks.”
“We call on the authorities to ensure that all people displaced by the attacks in Benue are adequately mitigated, including protection, shelter, food, clean water, sanitation and health care. The authorities must ensure that all those suffering from the losses of the crisis are adequately compensated.”
background
Since 2016, Amnesty International Nigeria has been monitoring the massive attacks and conflicts between herders and farmers in Benue State. In 2020, the group investigated the failure of authorities to protect rural communities from attacks and investigated the increasing number of deaths in 2025 and investigated the increasing number of human crises and forced the human crisis to continue to be counterattacked.
Nigeria is a state party of many treaties, and regardless of the circumstances, it guarantees the human rights of everyone in the country. This includes the United Nations international contract on economic, social and cultural rights and the African Charter on the Rights of Humanity and People, requiring Nigerian authorities to ensure equal access to housing, health, food, food, water, sanitation and education.
