Benue IDPs Block Yelewata Highway, Demand Immediate Return to Their Homes
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Yelewata, Benue State, staged a protest on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, blocking a major highway and bringing traffic to a standstill.
The protesters, including men and women, demanded an end to their prolonged displacement and called for urgent government action to restore security in their communities.
Human rights activist Ukan Kurugh, who shared the incident on Facebook and later confirmed it in a phone interview, said the protesters took over both lanes of the highway for several hours, chanting, “We want to go back home!” The protest left countless motorists and travelers stranded as tensions rose on the road.
According to Kurugh, the demonstrators expressed deep frustration over their continued stay in IDP camps due to repeated attacks by suspected armed Fulani herdsmen, which had forced them from their ancestral homes.
“No one wants to remain in a camp forever. These people have families, farmland, and lives that have been put on hold for too long,” he said. “They are tired of waiting. They want to return and rebuild.”
As of the time of this report, the protest was still ongoing, and the highway remained barricaded. No official response had been issued by state or federal authorities.
