Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue State: The Need for Durable Solutions

Abstract

Internal displacement remains an existential humanitarian, security, and socio-economic challenge in Benue State, Nigeria. Driven primarily by protracted herder-farmer conflicts, communal clashes, and environmental stressors, over 500,000 individuals have been forced into makeshift camps and host communities across the state. This paper examines the multi-dimensional living conditions of these Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), evaluates past and present emergency relief interventions by state, federal, and international actors, and analyses the institutional shift toward long-term recovery. Leveraging the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus as an analytical framework, the study evaluates the structural viability of Benue State’s five-year, N853 billion Action. Plan on Durable Solutions. The findings reveal that while emergency relief provides critical short-term survival, it fails to address structural vulnerabilities such as permanent land loss, economic dependency, psychological trauma, and the erosion of social capital. The paper concludes that achieving true durable solutions requires sustained peacebuilding, secure land restoration, localized economic cooperative models, and collaborative pooled funding frameworks to transition IDPs from protracted displacement to long-term self-reliance.