EU approved ₦ 886m aid package for refugees in Benue

The European Union has announced a € 500,000 humanitarian funding package (around ₦ 886 million) to support thousands of people who are moved internally (IDP) in the state of Benue, Nigeria, when the country wrestled with new waves of violence and increasingly in humanitarian needs.

This emergency intervention emerged after an intensive attack that had made a fragile situation in the state. According to EU data, more than 1.5 million people have been displaced since 2018, with new escalations in 2024 and 2025 which resulted in more than 6,900 deaths and displaced 400,000 others.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Ugo Sokari-George, an European Union public affairs official for politics, the press and information section, explained that the funding will be implemented during the six-month period in collaboration with international organizations for migration (IOM).

“Responding to the entry of neglected people after the recent attack on the state of Benue, the EU has released € 500,000 (around NGN 886,315,000) to meet the most urgent humanitarian needs,” said Sokari-George.

“This EU funding will support, for a period of six months, and in partnerships with IOM, efforts to implement activities in sectors such as protection, residence, water, sanitation and cleanliness, as well as multi-marine financial assistance,” he added.

EU intervention will target critical needs in several sectors, including emergency storage, protection, washing (water, sanitation, and cleaning services), and cash -based assistance for the most vulnerable population.

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“The increase in armed violence in the state of Benue, Nigeria, has replaced thousands of people, worsening the crisis of humanity that has been critical. In June 2025, the wave of attacks forced almost 23,000 people to escape, many of them had been displaced in the past, triggered an increase in the vulnerability cycle,” Sokari-Gegeorge.

Conditions in the displacement camps remain terrible. Many families do not have adequate shelter, clean water, or basic sanitation facilities, while access to sustainable livelihoods remain limited. Groups that are vulnerable to women, children, and disabled people increase the risk of protection in crowded camps and lack of resources.

“This latest wave of violence is part of a protracted humanitarian crisis that has shaken the state of the benue since 2018. More than 1.5 million people have been displaced from their homes since 2018. Increased violence in 2024 and 2025 has claimed around 6,900 lives and released more than 400,000 people, emphasizing the urgency of the symptom of symptoms.

EU assistance is expected to provide short -term assistance and prevent a decline in humanitarian conditions in the state of benue while completing the efforts of the Nigerian authority and international assistance organizations.