Benue SEMA Reports N160m Spent on Snakebite Treatment for IDPs.

Benue SEMA Reports N160m Spent on Snakebite Treatment for IDPs.

The Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) says it spent more than N160 million treating snakebite cases involving internally displaced persons (IDPs) between March and September 2026.

SEMA Executive Secretary, James Iorpuu, disclosed this while responding to concerns about conditions in IDP camps across the state, according to reports by Punch, Vanguard and Nigerian Tribune.

Iorpuu said the agency arranged for displaced persons requiring medical attention to receive treatment at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital in Makurdi, citing inadequate support from humanitarian partners.

He also identified transportation as a challenge affecting access to medical facilities and said the agency continued to provide relief assistance to displaced persons despite resource constraints.

In a separate account of its relief operations, Iorpuu said SEMA had fewer than 2,000 bags of rice available for distribution in September, compared with its usual monthly distribution of more than 3,500 bags, Nigerian Tribune reported.

Meanwhile, representatives of IDP camps in Agagbe, Daudu and Mega raised concerns about food distribution, shelter, sanitation and access to healthcare.

One representative alleged that residents had gone about four months without a food distribution exercise.

SEMA also reported interventions in education and resettlement. According to Vanguard, Iorpuu said 163 displaced children had enrolled in a secondary school exchange programme, while about 110 displaced persons had been relocated to an area in Akile, Makurdi Local Government Area, to pursue farming and other economic activities.

The agency said it was working with humanitarian partners, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, on resettlement initiatives.