.Monarch tasks Tinubu on insecurity
In response to mass displacement caused by a series of violent attacks by armed groups across Benue and Plateau, the European Union (EU) has released an additional €250,000 (over N450 million) in humanitarian assistance to people in need in the two states.
The EU said the funding would enable the Nigerian Red Cross to deliver immediate and life-saving humanitarian assistance to 2,500 vulnerable households (around 15,000 people) who have been displaced for over four months. Support would include emergency cash assistance, essential household items, healthcare and psychosocial support, as well as water and sanitation.
The bloc noted that beyond immediate relief, the initiative would strengthen protection services and conduct awareness campaigns on health, hygiene, and safety.
“This comprehensive approach aims to not only alleviate suffering, but also to safeguard the dignity of vulnerable people — especially women, children, and those repeatedly displaced — who are now living in precarious, overcrowded, and underserved conditions.
“The humanitarian situation is dire. As of July 2025, over 615,000 people are displaced in Benue State, and an additional 65,000 are in Plateau State. Many are subsistent farmers cut off from their land during the crucial planting season,” the EU said in a statement.
The majority of affected people are reportedly resident in overcrowded internally displaced people (IDP) camps or informal shelters, facing severe shortages of food, clean water, healthcare, and protection.
The funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
It may be recalled that in July this year, the EU provided the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) with €500,000 (approximately N886,315,000) to meet the most urgent needs of displaced populations in Benue State for six months.
Also, the Gbong Gwom Jos and Chairman of Plateau State Council of Chiefs, Jacob Gyang Buba, has called on President Bola Tinubu to rescue Nigeria from the current security challenges bedevilling the country.
According to Buba, the current insecurity challenges in the country are worrisome and require urgent measures to tackle the problems.
Buba made the call when the new Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, alongside four other progressive governors, visited him at his palace in Jos, the state capital.
The governors included the Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Hope Uzodinma, Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, and his Kogi counterpart, Ahmed Usman Ododo.
The Gbong Gwom Jos, in response to the visit, told the APC National Chairman and the governors that though the current administration inherited insecurity and economic challenges, it is high time the government tackled what he described as years of insecurity.
“We appeal to all of you politicians: the stability of Nigeria is what we all want. Every party claims to want to make the country better. And we, at the level of the traditional council, always pray for leaders who will truly accomplish that mission.
“Let me remind you: at this moment in time, it has pleased God to place the destiny of Nigeria in your hands. And we will all account to God at the end of the day,” he said.
