Grief enveloped Agagbe in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State following the death of two pregnant internally displaced women within a space of five days.
Community sources disclosed on Monday that the victims, Aondona Dooshima, aged 30, and Sumali Blessing, 28, died on February 26 and March 1, 2026, respectively.
A resident, Terna, who requested anonymity, attributed the fatalities to worsening economic hardship and poor access to healthcare services.
He said Dooshima, who had fled Tse Nongu Tswarev in Gaambe Ushin Council Ward due to attacks, began experiencing intense abdominal pain on February 26.
Her husband was said to have rushed her to a primary health centre in Abani on Sunday, but she reportedly succumbed the next day. Her body was later deposited at the Agagbe morgue.
The source noted that both deceased women had taken refuge in Agagbe alongside their families after being displaced from their ancestral homes by violence. He urged the state authorities, philanthropists and non-governmental organisations to provide urgent medical and welfare assistance to displaced persons in the area.
When contacted, the Information Officer of the Benue State Emergency Management Agency, Tema Ager, confirmed that the women were displaced persons but clarified that they were not staying inside the official camp.
“They were not in the camp facility but were living among members of the host community,” she said.
The incident has once again drawn attention to the dire conditions faced by displaced families in Benue State, many of whom continue to struggle with limited healthcare access, food shortages and other essential needs years after attacks forced them to flee.
Agagbe is listed as one of the 14 recognised Internally Displaced Persons camps in the state.
