UNHCR and Benue SEMA distribute 26 motorbikes to security agencies and community protection units in Guma and Makurdi LGAs, part of ongoing efforts to strengthen surveillance and rapid response for displaced persons.
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Makurdi — September 1, 2026
The Benue State Emergency Management Agency (Benue-SEMA), in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), has distributed 26 motorbikes to security agencies and community protection units in Guma and Makurdi Local Government Areas to strengthen surveillance and rapid response capacity for internally displaced persons.
The deployment forms part of a broader, sustained collaboration between Benue-SEMA and UNHCR, which has previously secured funding support from the Nigerian Humanitarian Fund specifically targeted at assisting vulnerable populations in the two LGAs, home to some of the state's largest concentrations of displaced residents.
Benue-SEMA Executive Secretary Dr. James Iorpuu has said such interventions are designed to strengthen local emergency management structures and provide critical training for grassroots emergency volunteers across the state, enhancing preparedness, resilience, and community-based response mechanisms during emergencies.
He has consistently credited the state government's sustained funding for enabling improved assistance to displaced persons and affected communities.
The motorbike deployment adds to a wider pattern of humanitarian and protection investment in Benue's IDP response, coming as the state government simultaneously moves toward closing some IDP camps in areas where security has improved, underscoring the dual-track approach of continuing to support communities still displaced while working toward their eventual, voluntary return home.
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