Sodiq Ojuroungbe 

Internally Displaced Persons in Shiroro, Munya and Rafi camps have accused the Niger State government of negligence, claiming that their conditions were getting worse by the day.

The refugees voiced their complaints during a visit by the Niger State Correspondents Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists to the IDP camps in Gwada and Kuta, Shiroro Local Council.

The Shiroro Internally Displaced Persons Desk Officer and Coordinator, Yusuf Kuta, while addressing newsmen, listed some of the challenges confronting the camps, noting that a good number of unspecified victims, mostly women reside outside the facility.

He hinted that attacks on rural communities by bandits and Boko Haram terrorists had affected 42 settlements across the three councils.

Kuta revealed that 50 malnourished children are undergoing treatment owing to a lack of adequate foods for breastfeeding women and called for urgent intervention from relevant authorities.

He, however, lauded the Nigerian Red Cross for its recent support.

“Kuta IDP camp has been in existence since 2019. And to the glory of Allah, we are managing it. But the IDPs here are suffering because their communities have been burnt down by bandits. Some of them are sick and currently in the hospital, and we don’t have adequate drugs.

“About 80 people sleep in one classroom. You know that can cause diseases and sicknesses,” Kuta added.

He said the council chairman recently supported them with some drugs but that they did not last up to four weeks because of the number of sick people who needed medical attention.

An inmate, Ahmed Al-Mustapha, lamented about inadequate accommodation, food shortage, out-of-school children, diseases, and lack of toilet facilities at the camps, noting that the available ones were full.

He said that they want security restored to enable them to return home. Al-Mustapha said since the military vacated his community, criminals have ceaselessly launched attacks, eliminating lives in the process.

The Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Baba Yumu, insisted that Governor Mohammed Bago’s administration has been up and doing in addressing the needs of the over 42,000 IDPs across the state.

Also, Director-General of Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Abdullahi Arah, reiterated the commitment of the current administration to prioritising the welfare and well-being of those in need, especially during emergencies.

Speaking through the spokesman of the agency, Hussaini Ibrahim, the DG confirmed that food items were recently distributed to IDPs, assuring of his organisation’s readiness to assist at all times.