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Tag: IDP

  • Fire razes ultra-modern IDP camp in Plateau

    The newly constructed ultra-modern Internally Displaced Persons ( IDPs ) Camp in Shendam Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau has been razed by fire.

    The camp was constructed by the Presidential Committee on Flood, Relief and Rehabilitation, which came into being after the 2012 flood disaster that ravaged 24 states in the country.

    Mr Bintan Wuyep, Director, Relief and Rehabilitation, Plateau Emergency Management Agency ( SEMA ) confirmed the inferno while speaking with our reporter in Jos on Thursday.

    Wuyep, who is the Acting Executive Secretary of the agency, said the disaster occurred on Tuesday.

    He said, however, that SEMA had been unable to assess the level of damage due to paucity of funds.

    “We don’t have funds even to fuel our vehicle to go to the camp to ascertain the cause of the inferno and assess the extent of damage.

    “We have gone everywhere even for a loan, but we have not succeeded.

    “Hence, we cannot give the exact level of damage caused by the sad incident,” Wuyep said.

    The Acting executive secretary described the incident as “a big loss to Plateau and Nigeria as a whole.’’

    According to him, the camp was meant to house Displaced Persons that might be affected in future disaster in any part of the state.

    Wuyep added that SEMA had already informed the Presidential Committee of the sad development.

    “The committee told us to assess the damage and formally write a report informing them of the cause and extent of damage.

    “But like I said earlier, we are constrained by lack of funds,” he said.

    Wuyep appealed to the State Government to empower the agency with funds to enable it function according to the law establishing it.

    He commended the State House of Assembly for its resolve to investigate the cause of the inferno.

    Wuyep stated that the action was not just timely but necessary.

  • China donates 135, 500 bags of rice to IDP’s in North-east

    The Government of People’s Republic of China has donated 135, 500 bags of rice for distribution to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east region.

    Mr Bashir Garga, National Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), made the disclosure in a statement on Monday in Maiduguri.

    Garga said the commodity was donated to the Nigerian Government by the Government of People’s Republic of China, as part of its contribution to the humanitarian challenges in the north-east.

    He said that 6, 779 tonnes of rice were supplied to the agency for onward distribution to displaced persons in the six states of the zone.

    The zonal coordinator added that the agency had worked out effective modalities to facilitate smooth distribution exercise, expected to be completed by the end of February.

    According to him, NEMA as the lead agency under the National Humanitarian Response Plan (NHRP), formally announced the delivery of first consignment of 6, 779 tonnes of rice.

    “It is expected that the delivery of the 135, 500 bags to the displaced persons in the region will be completed on or before the end of February,” he said.

    Garga, who commended the government`s efforts, added that the support would address the humanitarian crisis caused by Boko Haram insurgency.

    He also said that the Federal Government has been distributing food items to persons displaced by the insurgency under its Emergency Food Intervention in North-East (EFINE) since June, 2017.

    “It will be recalled that the government had distributed over 40, 000 tonnes of assorted of grain to displaced persons under the programme in the north-east.

    “Food items are being distributed on monthly basis to deserving households at Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps, liberated and host communities.

  • IDPs in FCT want to return home

    Victims of Boko Haram attacks camped in Abuja have appealed to the Federal Government to intensify efforts to make their places safe so they can return to their homes from their temporary abodes.

    Mr Philemon Emmanuel, the leader of the Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs) in Kuchigoro, Abuja, made the appeal when officials of National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons visited the facility.

    The officials had gone to the camp and others in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to deliver food and non-food items, empowerment and educational materials to the victims.

    Emmanuel, said “we do appreciate all the efforts to make the camps comfortable for us through the donations and several visits by concerned people from within and outside the country,

    “We have been missing home and we will want to beg that government should intensify efforts toward making our places safe so we can return home.

    “We have been shown that humanity cares for us through the regular gifts we get here but we have been disconnected from our roots and majority of us here will want to return to our ancestral lands because there is no place like home. ”

    He also appealed to those coming with gifts to the camp to pay more attention to the medical needs of the victims.

    Emmanuel said “among the several gifts we have gotten on this camp is the medical clinic donated by the German Government but there are no drugs in the clinic.

    “We have a nurse who has volunteered to render free services to us here but there are no drugs for treating our simple medical challenges that come up from time to time.

    “Having stayed out here without any gainful employment over the years, we want to appeal to government and those who can assist us to consider us for employment opportunities so that we can return to normal family lives.

    “We have graduates among us who were engaged in some professional duties before the killers came to ravage our lands and turned us to a people who depend on others to survive.

    “If such people are employed, we will surely have less tension on the camp.”

    Earlier, Hajia Sadiya Farouk, the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, promised that the Federal Government would continue to partner donor agencies and individuals to help the victims.

    “Our concern for the provision of durable solutions is to bring to an end those activities that can temporarily or permanently bring about displacement,’’ Farouk aid.

    She said government would assist displaced persons to return to their homes “when it becomes possible and safe’’, reintegrate them in host communities and resettle or relocate them in safer areas.

    Farouk had led the delegation to make similar donations at the Wasa and Durumi camps in FCT.

     

  • 5 dead, 39 injured in as suicide bombers attack IDP

    Five persons have been confirmed dead as suicide bombers suspected to be Boko Haram members attacked the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camp in Dalori, Borno state on Wednesday.

    The Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) chairman, Satomi Ahmad confirming the incident to newsmen in Maiduguri said five IDPs members and 39 others sustained various degrees of injuries in the suicide bomb attack.

    Satomi said that a female suicide bomber infiltrated the IDPs camp and detonated explosive killing herself and five other people, while 39 others were wounded.

    He said the second suicide bomber detonated improvised explosive device at the entrance of Dalori residential quarters and blew herself to pieces.

    According to him, there was no casualty in the second attack.

    The chairman added that the wounded had been taken to the Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri

    Dalori camp is located on the road from Maiduguri to Konduga, Bama, and the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, 15 kilometres south-east of Maiduguri.

    The camp has been targeted many times by suspected Boko Haram terrorist group. Worst of these attacks occurred on January 30, 2016, when at least 86 people were killed and at least 62 injured.

     

  • BORNO: Army denies suicide bomb attack in IDPs camp, ambush on soldiers

    The Nigerian Army on Tuesday dismissed as ‘misleading’, reports of a suicide bomb attack at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Pulka community of Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno.

    The military also described as ‘fictitious’, the purported killing of six soldiers by Boko Haram insurgents in an ambush on Damboa Road.

    Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Operation Lafiya Dole, gave the clarifications in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri.

    Nwachukwu disclosed that two suicide bombers infiltrated Pulka town on Monday, one of the bombers was neutralised by the troops, while the other one detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IEDs) in the town, killed two persons and two others sustained injuries.

    He said that a military vehicle stepped on an IED device planted on Damboa Road on Sunday, noting that two soldiers lost their lives in the incident.

    “The incident in Pulka occurred inside the town and not at the IDPs camp. The gallant troops neutralised one of the attackers even before causing harm to any one, while the other suicide bomber detonated the explosive killing two persons and injuring two others.

    “There was no ambush by the insurgents on our troops. The soldiers were involved in an IED explosion accident when their vehicle stepped on the device planted on the road.

    “Two soldiers were involved in the incident; there was no ambush, no ammunition carted away or six soldiers killed, as being erroneously reported. It is a misrepresentation of facts,” he said.

    Nwachukwu said that the military authorities had sympathised with the victims of the suicide bomb attack in Pulka, and reiterated its commitment to the protection of lives and property.

    The army spokesman also called on the people in the region to be vigilant and provide useful information to the military on suspicious activities in their respective communities.

    “Security and peace building is a collective responsibility; I call on community and religious leaders to mobilise their people and cooperate with the military in the fight against insurgency.

    “Boko Haram insurgents do not wear uniform to easily identify them. People must be vigilant to report suspicious persons and contribute to the restoration of peace in the region,” he said.

    NAN

  • 3 killed, 7 Injured as suicide bombers attack Maiduguri IDP Camp

    No fewer than three people were killed while seven others sustained injuries following a suicide attack on Monday at an Internally Displaced Persons camp in Pulka, Borno State.

    Pulka is a town in Gwoza local government of Borno state 135 kilometres away from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

    According to sources at the camp, the suicide bomber came to the entrance of the camp at about 11:00 a.m. on Monday morning and blew herself up leading to the death of three persons injuring seven others.

    Pulka was liberated from the hands Boko Haram insurgents by the military in early 2016 after been held for close to two years.

    Thousands of refugees taking refuge in Cameroun republic have been returning to the town owing to its liberation.

    Monday’s suicide attack was the first in an IDP camp in the area since its liberation.

    Security officials are yet to provide details of the attack or provide an official statement on the incidence.

  • Eid-el-Kabir: NGO donates 1,849 cows to the needy in Daura

    Nyass International Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, says it has so far donated 1,849 cows to the needy and less privileged in the country.

    The organisation said this during the Eid-el-Kabir celebration in Daura that it made the donation in collaboration with a German based Hassene Foundation.

    Sheikh Adulahad Nyas said the meat of such cows had been always shared every year to no fewer than 1,400 registered less privileged persons, who were orphans, people living with disability and some categories of civil servants.

    He, however, said the organisation was planning to extend the charitable gesture to the needy under its coverage, noting that the scheme was inaugurated in Kebbi, Kano and Kasuna in 2014.

    He said 160 countries were involved in the programme which focused mainly on African countries.

    As part of activities to mark Eid-el-Kabir, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the slaughter and distribution of the cow meat was successful in Daura.

    One the beneficiaries, Alhaji Sani Daura, commended the foundation for the gesture.

    He said many people would get free cow meat, especially those who were not able to slaughter rams during the festival.

    Malam Habibu Bala, a veteran unionist, also lauded the efforts of the foundation, calling on well to do people, corporate bodies, politicians and other public spirited individuals, to emulate the foundation’s gesture.

    NAN reports that Nyass Foundation was named after the legendary Senegal-based Islamic scholar, the late Sheikh Ibrahim Nyass, for his contributions towards the propagation of Islam.

  • Digital skills: FG sets up multi-million naira training centre for IDPs in Abuja

    Digital skills: FG sets up multi-million naira training centre for IDPs in Abuja

    …set to equip IDPs with digital skill

    …awards scholarship to 300 IDPs

    All is now set for the federal government to equip Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) with necessary digital skills as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has set up a multi-million naira training centre for IDPs in Abuja.

    The NITDA says the multi-million naira Digital Capacity Building Centre for training of IDPs is located at the Praxis Catholic e-School for IDPs in Abuja.

    The Chief Executive of the school, Mr. Ben Onwudinjo made the disclosure in a statement made available to TheNewsGuru on Monday.

    According to Onwudinjo, NITDA Director-General, Dr Isa Pantani set up the centre at the school as part of the agency’s mandate of corporate social responsibility.

    He said that the school had awarded scholarship to 300 IDP students drawn from Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states to support the Presidential Committee on Northeast Initiative (PCNI).

    Onwudinjo said that the centre, equipped with e-learning facilities would empower IDPs in Abuja and its environs in the area of ICT to make them self-reliant.

    “The digital capacity building centre is being used to equally provide free ICT training for students preparing for Universities Matriculation Examination computer based test in Abuja and its environs.

    “It will also assist other Nigerians interested in acquiring knowledge in all areas of information and communication technology to boost the quality of education for national development,” he said.

    Onwudinjo explained that the gesture by the NITDA Director-General would not only bridge the knowledge gap of the IDP, it would also help to support the efforts of the PCNI at rebuilding the Northeast.

    He said, “The gesture has also given boost to the efforts of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) towards its computer based test.

    “It has totally eradicated the ignorance earlier associated with the use of ICT during the exams by providing free training facilities for interested candidates.

    Onwudinjo commended the NITDA Director-General for his kind gesture and assured him of judicious use of the digital capacity learning centre.

     

  • Rann bombing: Outdated maps caused death of Nigerians – Surveyors

    Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS), Saturday, blamed use of obsolete maps for the tragic bombing of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Rann village of Kala-Balge Local Government Area of Borno State by the military.

    A fighter jet early in the year bombed aid providers, soldiers and displaced persons in error, killing about 100 persons.

    Speaking in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, after 52nd Annual General Meeting and conference of NIS, the President of the body, Akinloye Oyegbola, said the error would have been averted if the map used for the operation was updated.

    Oyegbola called for regular update of the country’s maps by the government to avoid such tragedy in the future.

    He said: “The maps we have on ground are very obsolete. If we are really to develop in a sustainable manner, we should intensify our mapping and not just the general mapping, but maps for different purposes.
    ”The ones we have now have not covered the whole country and the ones that have covered the country are very obsolete.

    ”When the IDP camp was erroneously bombed, there was a release that whatever map that was used for that trip was not updated. Because if it was updated, the IDP camp would have been on the map.

    “And if it was on that map, there was no way they could have bomed the IDP camp erroneously. So, you see what we are talking about. We will continue to echo that and we pray and hope that the people in government will appreciate it.
    ”It is always said that the most developed countries are the most mapped countries in the world.

    “There is a reason for that, because they already know what mapping is all about and they want their own development to be in a sustainable manner, that is why you have it like that and that is what we are advocating for in our own country”.

    The official noted that the challenge facing the profession was lack of public knowledge about surveyors and their roles in the society.

    Oyegbola said: “People often forget that in anything you do on land, survey comes in first. But many people don’t know about this fact and those who seem to know, actually know very little about it.

    “In those colourful bridges and imposing structures you see across the country, the surveyors have worked tirelessly to make their columns stand as balanced as they look, but many people do not understand that.

    “That is why when it comes to government and the award of contracts for development projects, we are always taking the back seat.”

  • Borno to evacuate 78,000 IDPs from Cameroon

    The Borno Government said on Sunday that it plans to evacuate 78,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) back home from Cameroon.

    The News Agency of Nigeria [NAN] reports that the affected IDPs fled to Cameroon at the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency in the state.

    The IDPs had a week ago urged the state government to facilitate their return home or they will trek back to Nigeria.

    Ahmad Satome, Chairman of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) told newsmen in Maiduguri that government plans to shelter the returnees in four temporary satellite camps.

    “The issue of the 78,000 Nigerian IDPs is purely a repatriation process, it is just to get them across the Cameroonian border back home.

    “Once they are back we will get them transported to transit camps in Kumshe, Gulumba, Ngoshe and Kirawa where they will feed for a week or thereabout, so they can stabilize before asking them where they want to go,” he said.

    Satome said that IDPs without any place to go would be kept in the camps while those who wanted to return home would be transported home.

    ” IDPs without homes or those whose communities are unsafe will be kept in the camps while those who want to return home will be transported home.

    “But for those who wished to remain in Cameroon they will be allowed to stay in accordance with the Geneva Convention,” he said.

    Satome said government was focused on ensuring early return of all IDPs back to their communities especially those in areas liberated by the military.

    “It is true that government is resolute in ensuring all IDPs return home in a dignified manner in accordance to the Kampala convention.

    “But sometimes a lots of uncertainties come in,” he said.

    Satome said that the continued rescue of persons by the military from terrorists enclaves had created new IDPs requiring attention.

    “The intensed pressure by the military on Boko Haram enclaves have led to rescue of new IDPs requiring care.

    “This means that they have to be kept in camps for care and other humanitarian services,” he said.

    Satome said however that government was resolute in moving IDPs who were interested in going back to camps close to their homes.

    ” I think it is unwise to keep 2,000 IDPs from Ngala in Maiduguri when you have about 200,000 others in Ngala town.

    “I think that the best thing is to move those willing to camps in their respective areas from where they can gradually move home,” he said.