The Benue State Government on Saturday confirmed the arrest of no fewer than 50 individuals posing as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at a relief camp set up for victims of the recent Yelwata attack in Guma Local Government Area.
Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Mr. Aondowase Kunde, disclosed the development while speaking with journalists in Makurdi, the state capital.
Kunde explained that the arrests followed intelligence reports and internal investigations which revealed that criminal elements, including residents of the host community and market women, had infiltrated the camp located at the International Market along George Akume Way.
“We have been grappling with disturbing activities at the camp over the past two days. After a protest erupted within the facility, we launched an investigation which exposed that several of the agitators were not genuine IDPs but impostors from surrounding areas,” the commissioner said.
According to Kunde, the impostors breached the camp’s perimeter through a collapsed fence on Friday night and made away with non-food relief items, including mattresses.
Further findings showed that some market women had begun purchasing distributed food items from fake IDPs, thereby depriving legitimate victims of the Yelwata attack of much-needed assistance.
Kunde also recounted a bizarre incident in which some women allegedly borrowed infants in order to pose as lactating mothers and gain access to aid materials prioritized for vulnerable groups.
“We noticed some of the so-called lactating mothers could not breastfeed the babies they brought. Upon further checks, we discovered that many of them were faking their identities just to benefit from the relief materials,” he added.
The commissioner assured that measures had been intensified to secure the camp and ensure only verified victims receive support from the government and its humanitarian partners.
The Yelwata community was attacked earlier this month by suspected armed herders, displacing scores of residents and prompting the government to establish an emergency relief camp.
Authorities say the latest development has raised concerns over the integrity of humanitarian operations and may prompt stricter verification processes across other IDP camps in the state.
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