Survivors of the Yelewata attack currently taking refuge in the temporary camp located at the International Market, Makurdi, have rejected the call to return home.
No fewer than 3,000 displaced persons from the Yelewata community are currently taking refuge in the camp, after the gruesome murder of about 200 people in coordinated attacks on the community by suspected armed herders on June 13, 2025.
Our correspondent who visited the camp on Sunday reliably gathered that traditional rulers and stakeholders from the community were mounting pressure on their people to return home, as a result of the infiltration of the temporary camp by other displaced persons.
“These infiltrators have continued to feast from the humanitarian support supposed to be for survivors of the Yelewata community,” one of the displaced persons who identified himself as Uker Amos said.
The 41-year-old survivor said some of them had to protest against the call by their traditional ruler to return home when they were not sure of adequate security in the community.
He said, “Yesterday, (Saturday) some of us came to the gate of this camp and voiced our position that we are not returning now until there is adequate security for us to return.”
Speaking in a telephone chat on Sunday, the Information Officer of the State Emergency Management Agency, Tema Ager, confirmed that traditional rulers of the Yelewata community were mounting pressure on their people to return home.
“But the people (displaced persons) are opposed to the move by the traditional rulers.
“They said they could only go back when there is assurance from the government that their community is safe.
“In fact, some of them came out to protest the call for their return,” he said.
Ager added that the government would assess the situation and decide when the people would return home.
