Benue Seeks FG Approval for Bandits’ Disarmament, Rehabilitation Centre
Chukwu Obinna 
BENUE, Nigeria – The Benue State Government seeks approval from the Federal Government to establish a Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration centre for repentant local bandits as part of efforts to restore peace.
The Director-General of the Benue State Commission for Peace and Reconciliation, Josephine Habba, discloses this on Monday in Makurdi.
Habba says the request is aimed at rehabilitating individuals who became foot soldiers under coercion rather than hardened criminals.
“We have people who are not criminals but were abducted and forced to do dirty jobs in the forest,” she says. “Some were used as cooks, even pregnant women.”
According to Habba, biometric data shows more than 1,800 affected persons, with about 400 expressing willingness to undergo rehabilitation.
She says the DDR programme, a military initiative supported by the United Nations, would attract international attention and additional security presence if approved.
The state has made a formal request to the Chief of Defence Staff, Olufemi Oluyede, who has set up a committee to assess the proposed facility.
“The committee has inspected the checklist and is awaiting its report,” Habba says. “We are hopeful.”
The centre, expected to be located in Logo Local Government Area, would run for six months to one year and include vocational training, community resilience programmes and infrastructure restoration.
Habba says the initiative is critical to breaking cycles of violence that have plagued Benue communities
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