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Tag: IDPs

  • How we accidentally bombed IDP camp in Rann – NAF

    The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has explained that the Internally Displaced Persons Camp (IDP) camp in Rann, Borno was bombed due to “communication gap.”

    Abubakar, who stated this while speaking to journalists also confirmed that the committee set up to investigate the incident has submitted its report.

    “The report has been submitted, but I would not let you into the findings of the report. This is because we are forwarding it to the Defence Headquarters and from there to the Ministry of Defence.

    “But one thing I want to say is that it is a very tragic incident. It has happened and it is something that is associated with war.

    “Even recently, some foreign powers also bombed friendly forces mistakenly. What is important to us is to pray for the families of the deceased and support them. And this is what we have been doing.

    “Usually when a thing like this happens, you find out that there is a communication gap somewhere. It is left for us to find out: Why did that communication gap exist? What can we do to ensure that it does not come up again?,” Abubakar said.

    He vowed that anyone found culpable in the incident will not be spared.

    Abubakar added: “If there are very glaring cases of people who are negligent, we will not hesitate to be very decisive to deal with that situation.

    “We have interacted with a number of Non-Governmental Organisations in that area. We have advised them that any time they are going for outreaches, they must give us a notice. We have suggested that they use the Red Cross insignia. This must be done so that anybody flying over will see the insignia and know that these are outreach gatherings and not Boko Haram.

    “No matter what, we have always double-checked our intelligence and will ensure that we do so before deploying airplanes. We are working on that so we do not have this situation again.

    “We have flown over 7,000 hours for over eight years and this is the first time we are having the Rann incident. I am not justifying the bombing. It was tragic, but war in itself is tragic.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that over 200 persons reportedly died in the accidental bombing of IDPs that occurred in January.

     

  • We are fed quality foods here, we don’t want to return home – IDPs

    The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at Pompomari camp in Damaturu, Yobe, say they are not in a haste to return to their communities liberated from Boko Haram insurgents.

    A cross section of the IDPs who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Damaturu said life in the camp was far better than what obtained in their villages.

    Bukar Makinta, an occupant of the camp, said, “we have been enjoying three-square meal in the camp provided by State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) since our arrival in 2015; we also have clinic and school here.

    Another occupant, Modu Kaka, said they were fed with beans, spaghetti, rice and Semovita, among other delicacies.

    Aisa Kolomi, said, “SEMA provides adequate foodstuff and women IDPs prepare the meals for all the IDPs in the camp who eat and even make surplus”.

    Bulama Shefuri, an elder in the camp, said women IDPs had engaged in animal fattening using leftover of food to feed the animals.

    “They collect the food remnants and you can see the crumbs spread all over in the sun to dry up to feed goats and sheep,” Bulama said.

    The IDPs said they had better food, school, healthcare and security in the camp.

    Alhaji Musa Jidawa, Executive Secretary, SEMA, said government had been feeding the IDPs since the camp was established in 2015.

    “Government had consistently been feeding 4,000 IDPs at the Pompomari camp and 3,000 others at the Bukar Ali primary school camp.

    “However, those at Bukar Ali camp willingly requested to return to their communities and the camp was closed down, while, we now have over 2,000 IDPs at the Pompomari camp as some of them have also left,” Jidawa said.

    The Secretary confirmed that the IDPs were fed with rice, beans, spaghetti and Semovita.

    “We also slaughter cows to provide them with meat,” Jidawa said.

     

     

    NAN

  • What 2face did for the IDPs

    Nigerian pop star, 2face Idibia has donated N3.5M to IDPs. Internally displaced persons can now rejoice as a result of 2face’s donation.

    The African queen star made a cheque donation on Monday, February 27th,to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Lagos.

    Speaking during the donation, he said:”The conditions I met the internally displaced persons, when I visited their various camps were terrible. They were really terrible. The 2Face Foundation has, therefore, decided to enter into partnership with the UNHCR to see how we can help put smiles on the faces of these persons. My foundation is today presenting this cheque to the UNHCR to support it in its operations of alleviating the sufferings of these IDPs.”

    Ms Brigitte Mukango Eno, the UNHCR’s Acting Country Representative in Nigeria who received the cheque thanking the pop icon said: “We sincerely want to express the gratitude of the UNHCR to 2Face. This is a right step toward our private sector following. Over these years, it has become important for us, as an organisation, to depend on the private sector, for us to be able to meet our responsibilities. 2Face has scored a very important goal by discovering the UNHCR Office within the UN system. We want to use this opportunity to appeal to other private Nigerians and philanthropists to emulate this gesture by the 2Face Foundation in alleviating the conditions of the IDPs in the North East.”

  • Army to build 5 classrooms in Borno IDPs camp

    The Nigerian Army on Wednesday pledged to construct five additional classrooms in Borno Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp to improve access to quality education among such persons.
    Brig.-Gen. Victor Ezugwu, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division of the Army, made the pledge when he visited one of the mobile classrooms at the Bakassi IDPs camp in Maiduguri.
    Ezugwu said the gesture was part of efforts to support government toward rehabilitating and reintegrating victims of the Boko Haram insurgency.
    He added that the army would also improve water supply in the camp to enhance healthy and hygienic environment.
    “We will also provide more learning materials for pupils,” Ezegwu said.During the visit, the GOC donated N200,000 to vulunteers and teachers providing free teaching services to pupils at the camp.

  • Femi Kuti challenges celebs on Boko Haram victims

    Visits IDP camp in Maiduguri

    Afrobeat maestro, Femi Kuti on Monday advised his fellow entertainers to use social media and pressure the government to do more to help millions of people struggling to survive in Boko Haram-hit NorthEast Nigeria.

    The 54-year-old performer said he desires to raise awareness among young Nigerians and encourage them to demand a greater humanitarian response, having visited an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, on Monday.

    “People need to have a sense of the reality in the northeast – from people walking around hungry to mothers with malnourished children, I hope more celebrities will visit and engage with their fans. Then more people will see what is going on, share it on social media, and put pressure on the government to do more. There are still so many young people who are displaced, who have lost their parents, who cannot go home yet. They cannot party, and it is them we must worry about the most” Femi said.

     

     

     

     

  • WHO vaccinates 4 million children in north-eastern Nigeria

    ImageFile: WHO vaccinates 4 million children in north-eastern NigeriaThe World Health Organization (WHO) has said it is kicking off a mass vaccination campaign to protect more than 4 million children against a measles outbreak in conflict-affected states in north-eastern Nigeria this week.

    The two-week campaign, which starts on 13 January, will target all children aged from 6 months to 10 years in accessible areas in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.

    “This measles vaccination campaign is an emergency intervention to protect more than 4 million children against a highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease,” says Dr Wondimagegnehu Alemu, WHO Representative in Nigeria.

    From early September to 18 December 2016, WHO-established Early Warning, Alert and Response System (EWARS) reported more than 1500 suspected measles cases in Borno State alone. More than 77% of children aged less than 5 years in Borno State have never received the measles vaccine and this is the age group where most cases have occurred, the EWARS report stated.

    “Massive disruption to health services in conflict-affected areas for many years has deprived these children of essential childhood vaccinations. In addition, many of them have severe malnutrition, making them extremely vulnerable to serious complications and death from measles,” the Nigerian WHO representative said.

    WHO is supporting the 3 state Primary Healthcare Development Agencies (PHCDA) to prepare for the campaign; working with partners including UNICEF, the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other health nongovernmental organizations.

    The Borno State Ministry of Health, with support from WHO and partners, has already vaccinated more than 83,000 children aged 6 months to 15 years living in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) where measles cases had been reported, with WHO saying these campaigns have started to show results, with a reduction of measles cases around the camps.

    Measles is a highly contagious, serious disease that is one of the leading causes of death in young children. In 2015, there were more than 134,000 measles deaths globally; most of them were in children aged less than 5 years.

    The humanitarian crisis caused by conflict in Borno State has resulted in more than 1.4 million IDPs living in more than 100 camps, amongst a host population of about 4.3 million people.

    During 2000-2015, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 20.3 million deaths making measles vaccination one of the best buys in public health.

  • Boko Haram: Adamawa Govt sets up committee to shut IDPs camps

    Boko Haram: Adamawa Govt sets up committee to shut IDPs camps

    Adamawa Government on Wednesday said it has set up a committee to handle all the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps that would be shut down in the state.

    Alhaji Ahmed Sajoh, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, made this known while briefing newsmen on the outcome of a security meeting in Yola.

    Recall that the state government had on Dec. 28 announced that all Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in the state would be shut down in January.

    Sajoh said that the committee would liaise with all relevant stakeholders on how to evacuate the IDPs to their respective states.

    “At the meeting, a committee was set up to consolidate the evacuation of the remaining IDPs and to shut down the camps.

    “The committee will also collaborate with all relevant stakeholders on IDPs matters to ensure smooth and effective evacuation of the IDPs,” Sajoh said.

    He said that the meeting also resolved on the need for a massive enlightenment of the public to be vigilant and to report any suspicious movement.

     

     

    NAN

  • Over 512 IDPs infected with HIV/AIDS in Borno – Agency

    Over 512 IDPs infected with HIV/AIDS in Borno – Agency

     

    The Executive Secretary, Borno State Agency for the Control of AIDS, Barkindo Saidu, has revealed that 512 new cases of HIV infection have been recorded in Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camps in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.


    Barkindo made the revelation on Sunday, in Maiduguri while briefing journalists on the activities of the agency in the state.


    According to him, the cases were recorded after voluntary screening in some IDP camps across 17 camps, where he said that, two out of the 513 persons infected with the HIV/AIDS virus were children.


    In his words: “We are currently conducting voluntary screening on HIV/AIDS in IDPs’ camps across the state to determine the status of the people, especially those rescued from the Boko Haram terrorists.


    As at last week, we have recorded 512 positive cases, among which two are children,” Saidu said.


    Officials had earlier said no fewer than 5,000 Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in 27 camps in the state were currently living with the virus.


    However, the Executive Secretary said that the state had witnessed rising cases of the disease due largely to the Boko Haram terrorism.


    Currently, 2.4 per cent of the population of the state is living with HIVand AIDS, which translates to 108,000 persons, going by the record of the National Population Commission.


    “But only a tiny portion of these people can access treatment because most anti retroviral centres have closed,” Mr. Saidu said.


    He explained that only 32 out of the 90 anti retroviral centres were still operational in the state.


    “Before the Boko Haram terrorism, we had 90 treatment centres across the state, but only 32 are still functional today.


    “The rest have been closed down due to the Boko Haram terrorism,” Saidu said.


    He called on the Federal Government and donor agencies to intervene in the HIV and AIDS control in the state.

  • NSCDC deploys 240 officers to IDPs camps to check menace of prostitution

    NSCDC deploys 240 officers to IDPs camps to check menace of prostitution

    The Borno Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC says it has deployed about 240 personnel to 16 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps to check the menace of prostitution.

    The State Commandant, Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi, who stated this in an interview with the newsmen, on Sunday in Maiduguri, said that cases were recorded in the state capital.

    In his words: “240 intelligent personnel were deployed to 16 IDPs camps located in the state capital to check this ugly trend of prostitution among IDPs.

    “You will recall that the command had raised an alarm about five months ago, that some persons were taking advantage of the situation of the IDPs to engage them into prostitution.

    “These group of culprits were also IDPs, who were taking refuge in the host communities who usually invite this IDPs out of camps and do all sort of things with them.

    “To be honest with you, there are also bad eggs amongst these IDPs, because it is crystal clear that some of them enjoyed what they are doing.

    “When the alarm was raised some weeks ago, the ugly trend stopped, but I can tell you that they have now shifted their activities to the host communities, where they meet and do all sort of things without fear.”