Metro
Eight die of hunger, disease in Benue IDPs camp
It has been revealed that eight persons have, between the months of January and May, died at the Mbawa Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Benue.
Chairman of the camp, Geoffrey Torgenga, made the disclosure in Makurdi on Wednesday while speaking with newsmen during a visit to the camp.
According to him, the deaths were as a result of acute hunger and different diseases at the camp which is located at Daudu community in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue.
Torgenga said that the latest death at the camp was recorded last weekend and that the body of the deceased was still in the morgue.
He explained that the IDPs were currently living on charity from civil society, religious bodies, individuals and non-governmental bodies.
READ ALSO: Nigerian govt files terrorism charges against journalist Jones Abiri
About 3,515 IDPs are reportedly residing at the camp and that they have lived in the camp for more than one year.
Torgenga lamented the deplorable condition at the camp, saying that IDPs living were at the mercy of the elements night and day.
According to him, the IDPs have been venturing into nearby bushes to fetch firewood to sell to make a living.
A three-year-old boy, identified as Nani Iyorkaa, who went to fetch firewood had been missing since last March.
One of the IDPs, Edward Nyam, 63, who had been residing at the camp since January last year, expressed his appreciation to individuals and groups that had been assisting the IDPs.
He thanked the Benue government for deploying officials of the state’s emergency management agency to the camp recently to help the IDPs.
Nyam appealed to the State Government to do everything possible to ensure the return of peace in communities so that the IDPs could return to their homes.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...