From Abel Leonard, Lafia
Over 4000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nasarawa State have appealed to the state government to come to their aid and deploy adequate security personnel to their communities so as to enable them return to their ancestral homes to commence farming activities.
The displaced persons are farmers from different villages sharing borders with Benue and Taraba states whose communities were invaded by gunmen. Forty-five of them, mostly children, taking refuge in public buildings in Awe, Keana and Obi local governments died due to non-availability of medical services in the camps, according to witnesses.
When Daily Sun visited the Central Primary School, Awe, where over 2000 IDPs, mostly women and children, were lodged, it was observed that they were in dire need of food evidenced by the swift manner in which some of the children aged between four and seven years, rushed to pick up a mango fruit that fell from a tree.
They hungrily ate the fruit, devouring it within a twinkle of an eye, by taking turns to have a bite of the mango fruit. Also, the appearance of the children and most of the aged IDPs indicated that they had not had their bathed for a period of time.
Their spokesperson, Joseph Amuwa, expressed worries over the absence of security personnel around the camps. He stated that they had been taking refuge at the primary school since 2018 following a surge of attacks on their communities by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen.
He also disclosed that young girls, some of them below the age of 18, were impregnated in the camps and have been delivered of their babies. He said IDP camps made them vulnerable to different challenges:
“The environment has exposed them to immoral activities even with the so- called security agents that are supposed to be guiding us.” He said some of the female members of the camp have sadly been granted leave by their parents to take to prostitution to survive.
Another displaced person, Anna Adyier, described their condition as dehumanising, appealing to government to intervene by providing them with relief materials. She pointed out that over 40 of them, including children now sleep in one classroom.
The village head of Gidan Buhu, one of the invaded communities, recalled an experience with gunmen when some of them attempted to go back home to commence work on their farms. He said he escaped narrowly with gunshot wounds as some of his relations were killed.
He alleged that 20 persons mostly children lost their lives in the camp between 2019 and 2022 due to the consumption of unhygienic foods and lack of health care services.
Similarly, at the Pilot Science Primary School, Keana, there are over 1,500 IDPs taking refuge in the classrooms. Their leader, Dennis Iornya, said they were abandoned as life has become unbearable for them coupled with the rainy season, which had set in fully.
He appealed to the federal and state governments to ensure the provision of adequate security to take them back to their ancestral homes: “Since we arrived in the camp, over 22 IDPs died. Most of the children are suffering from kwashiorkor and stunted growths.”
Mercy Chahur and Adasho Deborah, both inmates of the camp explained that they watched helplessly as their children fell sick and died due to the absence of medical attention.
Executive Secretary, Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency, Zakariya Allumaga, said government would deploy personnel to carryout a head count of the IDPs with a view to providing them with relief materials.