Reported By Mary Udezue | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
A farmers’ organisation in Nasarawa State has called on government authorities and stakeholders to facilitate the safe return of 14,718 displaced farmers who have been living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in neighbouring Benue State for more than six months, highlighting deepening humanitarian and security challenges in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.
The appeal was made by the United Farmers’ Association Kadarko, a community-based group representing rural farmers across Nasarawa and neighbouring states, following a mass exodus triggered by violent attacks in June 2025 that forced thousands of agricultural families from their ancestral homes and productive farmlands. The organisation said a return operation is being planned for January 31, 2026, but urgent support from government and partners is critical to its success. According to leaders of the association, the displacement stems from a June 13, 2025 attack in Yelwata — a community located on the border between Keana Local Government Area in Nasarawa State and Guma Local Government Area in Benue State — which they say killed residents and sparked fear across 314 farming communities. Because of the proximity of border settlements, farmers fled en masse from their homes into Benue State to escape further violence.
The group says most of those displaced are subsistence farmers from Tiv communities who abandoned their farms, homes and sources of livelihood. With limited accommodation and services in official camps — and thousands more living with host families or informally on the edges of communities — conditions for the displaced have been precarious, with many farmers facing significant hardship.
Speaking to journalists in Lafia, the Chairman of the United Farmers’ Association Kadarko, Dennis Denen Gbongbon, outlined the scale of the crisis and emphasised the urgency of government intervention. He said the association, in collaboration with community leaders and security agencies, aims to begin returning displaced farmers to their ancestral lands by the end of January 2026.
Gbongbon appealed to national and state governments as well as traditional institutions, development partners and humanitarian organisations for logistical assistance, including buses to transport the returnees, food supplies, medical aid and other relief materials. He also urged support in addressing psychological trauma suffered by those uprooted from their homes.
“Most of the people registered in recognised camps are suffering,” Gbongbon said, noting that many had endured months of uncertainty with limited access to shelter and basic services. He stressed that return to host communities in Nasarawa State would allow farmers to begin rebuilding their lives, restore their economic independence, and reengage in agricultural activities vital to food security in the region.
In the lead-up to the planned return, members of the association visited traditional authorities, including officials of the Lafia Emirate Council, to solicit support and formalise collaboration on ensuring the safe reintegration of returnees. Representatives of the emirate expressed readiness to assist the initiative and work with stakeholders to ensure all displaced farmers are welcomed home.
The crisis afflicting Nasarawa State’s rural communities forms part of a wider pattern of insecurity in central Nigeria’s agrarian belts, where communal violence, clashes between herders and farmers, and attacks by armed groups have periodically uprooted thousands of civilians. In mid-2025, displacement flows from violence in border areas prompted concerns about an emerging humanitarian situation, with neighbouring communities in both Nasarawa and Benue states reporting an influx of victims seeking refuge.
Human rights and civil society advocates have long warned that such conflict-induced displacement disrupts agricultural productivity, threatens food security, and deepens rural poverty. The inability of farmers to safely access their lands not only impacts household livelihoods but also contributes to broader economic instability in agrarian economies like Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
Government agencies and security forces in both Nasarawa and Benue states have been under pressure to address the root causes of such violence and improve protection for vulnerable rural populations. Nasarawa State’s government has previously reaffirmed commitments to strengthen security for farmers and enhance agricultural support mechanisms, including improved farming infrastructure and mechanisation programmes, though challenges persist.
As the January 31 return date approaches, stakeholders are calling for carefully coordinated efforts among government, traditional leaders, community groups and humanitarian agencies to ensure that displaced farmers can return with confidence and begin the long process of recovery. With food production cycles disrupted by months of displacement, timely intervention and sustained support will be crucial to prevent deeper economic distress and food shortages in the coming planting seasons.
For the displaced farmers of Nasarawa, the planned homecoming represents more than a physical return. It is a bid to reclaim livelihoods, restore community cohesion, and rebuild resilience in the face of persistent insecurity that continues to challenge the heartland of Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
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