An Analysis of Stakeholders’ Human Security Interventions in Internally
Displaced Persons Camps in Guma and Makurdi Local Government Areas in
Benue State, Nigeria

Samson Ojonugwa Adegbe & Simeon Onuche Isah

Abstract

This study explores stakeholders’ human security interventions in internally displaced persons’ camps in selected local government areas of Benue State. It relies on a descriptive survey utilising a concurrent triangulation design. The study population consisted of 72,993 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from seven IDP camps in the Makurdi and Guma LGAs, Benue State, Nigeria, who were purposively selected. A sample of 400 IDPs was selected using the Taro Yamane formula. A quota sampling technique was used to determine the number of questionnaires distributed per IDP camp. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire, yielding a 95.5% response rate with 382 questionnaires returned; focus group discussions conducted in seven IDP camps; semi structured in-depth interviews with seven IDP leaders and seven key informants; and unstructured personal observations. Secondary data was also sourced from journals, government records, and scholarly websites. Thematic and content analysis were used for qualitative data, while descriptive statistics and SPSS software were used for quantitative data analysis. The study discovers that major stakeholders providing human security interventions in IDP camps in Benue are international organisations, NGOs, Civil Society Organisations, religious organisations, and self help. At the same time, the majority of respondents disagree with the government’s efforts. The pattern of intervention is the maintenance of law and the provision of basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing. The challenges are paucity of funds, lack of capacity and experts, sustainability issues and population explosion. The study concludes that stakeholder interventions in the IDP camps are largely focused on short-term humanitarian assistance, with limited emphasis on long-term human security strategies that prioritise IDP empowerment and participation to ensure lasting solutions, and recommends that the government should develop context-specific strategies to address human security challenges, establish a centralised coordination mechanism for stakeholders and establish transparent and accountable mechanisms for managing resources.

Keywords: Human Security, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Stakeholder Intervention, Displacement Governance, and Benue State, Nigeria