The Benue State government has collaborated with Fortress360 LLC-Triple Peace Initiative, a social enterprise company, alongside the Justice Development and Peace Caritas Initiative (JDPCI), to enhance humanitarian support and build sustainable pathways for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to have sustainable income in the state.

The Director-General of the Benue State Bureau for International Cooperation and Development (BICD), Dr. Leo-Angelo Viashima, disclosed this during a high-powered tripartite meeting in Makurdi made up of key heads from relevant State Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.

Dr. Viashima explained that Fortress360 will act as more than just a partner – the organisation will function as a scout and technical backbone for BICD, identifying funding opportunities, helping to draft proposals and providing advisory services to enable growth across multiple sectors.

The Executive Director of Fortress360, Dr. Paul Nyulaku, said the organisation, on its part, will carry out needs assessments among IDPs in the coming days to determine skills gaps, evaluate local economies, and map out what kinds of support (training, economic, psychosocial) are most urgently needed.

“The goal is to help the state government deliver on Governor Hyacinth Alia’s vision of inclusive investment that spans both capital and social development”.

“Together with JDPCI, Fortress360 will also work to strengthen state institutions such as the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BSEMA), the State Rehabilitation Board, Women Affairs, and the Bureau for Wealth Creation and Entrepreneurship and the Fashion Centre so that interventions for IDPs become more sustainable”.

Also speaking, Rev. Fr. Dr. Sebastian Sanni of JDPCI said the collaboration aims to empower people in IDP camps not only through material or technical assistance, but also through psycho-spiritual support and skill-acquisition programmes.

In their respective remarks, leaders of the various MDAs at the meeting hailed Fortress360’s central role and welcomed the emphasis on technical support, institution building, and sustainable livelihoods as promising paths for transforming IDPs’ situations in the state.