The European Union (EU) Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS has announced the allocation of an additional €250,000 (approximately ₦450 million) to assist displaced populations in Benue and Plateau States. This funding, disclosed in a statement by Modestus Chukwulaka, the EU’s Press and Information Officer, is in response to the mass displacement of individuals following a series of violent attacks by armed groups across Nigeria’s north-central region.
According to the statement, the support will enable the Nigerian Red Cross to provide immediate, life-saving humanitarian assistance to approximately 2,500 vulnerable households, amounting to around 15,000 people who have been displaced over the last four months. The assistance will include emergency cash support, essential household items, healthcare, and psychosocial services, as well as water and sanitation interventions.
The EU noted that the aid package goes beyond emergency relief by also focusing on strengthening protection services and launching awareness campaigns on health, hygiene, and safety. This comprehensive approach aims to alleviate suffering and uphold the dignity of vulnerable individuals—particularly women, children, and those who have been repeatedly displaced and are now living in overcrowded and underserved shelters.
The humanitarian situation remains dire. As of July 2025, more than 615,000 people are displaced in Benue State, with an additional 65,000 in Plateau. Many of the affected individuals are subsistence farmers who have been cut off from their land during the critical planting season. The majority now reside in overcrowded internally displaced persons (IDP) camps or makeshift shelters and face severe shortages of food, clean water, healthcare, and security.
This latest EU intervention is part of its broader contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). In addition to this recent commitment, the EU had earlier in July provided €500,000 (about ₦886 million) to the International Organisation for Migration to support the most urgent needs of displaced populations in Benue State over a six-month period.
The EU stressed that the recurring and targeted violence in Benue and Plateau States continues to fuel a prolonged protection crisis, resulting in extensive destruction and worsening humanitarian conditions. With new security threats emerging almost weekly, the bloc reaffirmed the need for sustained humanitarian efforts. The EU and its member states remain among the world’s leading donors of humanitarian aid, committed to saving lives, preventing and alleviating suffering, and safeguarding the dignity of populations affected by both natural disasters and man-made crises.