The Benue State Government is seeking the approval of the Federal Government to set up a Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration centre for repentant local bandits in the state.The Director-General, Commission for Peace and Reconciliation, Josephine Habba, disclosed this on Monday while speaking with journalists in Makurdi.Habba stated that the request was necessary to rehabilitate some of the bandits who, by circumstances, found themselves as foot soldiers to bandits.According to her, the state had made a passionate request to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, for the setting up of a DDR centre for bandits of Benue origin.She further explained that the centre is aimed at rehabilitating over 400 people, including women who are not criminals but were abducted by the bandits.She said, “These persons are not necessarily criminals but were taken in to do dirty jobs for those in the forest because they know that if they (local bandits) come out, they would be recognised, so they needed foot soldiers.“Even pregnant women were abducted and turned to their cooks. These number of people from the biometric we have done are over 1,800, but 400 are willing to be rehabilitated.”Habba explained that the DDR centre is a programme by the military, funded and certified by the United Nations, stressing that the programme, which is yet to be approved by the Chief of Defence Staff, when established, will attract international community attention to the state.She added that the operationalisation of the facility will bring more troops into the state.
“My commission has worked out a plan which will be unveiled at a peace summit on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, that captures everything and ensures that these people graduate and are given certificates.“The programme will run for six months to one year. While they are there, the committee will engage in community resilience, identify the livelihoods that were destroyed and needed, as well as ensure that schools and hospitals are rebuilt so we have a seamless reintegration of these people into their families,” Habba stated.She added, “The Bishop of Katsina-Ala Diocese, Bishop Isaac Dugu, and I went to the commander of Safe Corridor. We also recommended to the governor to meet with the Chief of Defence Staff and request for this DDR centre and see if he might oblige him.“The Governor asked me, the Homeland Security Adviser, Liaison Officer in Abuja and the Bishop to meet the CDS. We made a passionate appeal for this centre for peace to return to the state.“The CDS said he will set up a committee to come and assess the facility the governor has put in place, and if it is befitting, they will work on the recommendation of the committee.“The CDS set up a committee made up of Brigadier-Generals, Major-Generals and Colonels, and they had their first meeting in my office with the Commissioner of Justice in attendance.“An entry point and checklist were looked at, and the governor gave permission to inspect the facility, and we are waiting for the report. We are praying and hoping that they will give us this facility.”Habba said that when the rehabilitation centre is approved, it is expected to be located in Logo Local Government Area of the state, adding that the project is expected to cost millions of naira.The DG further said that the commission was established in 2022 and became operational in 2023 following the incessant attacks on Benue communities.She said that the state government needed to build mechanisms to ensure that frequent conflicts are nipped in the bud.
