The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Internally displaced persons (IDPs)

  • Border Agency to construct schools, health centres in 21 states

    The Border Community Development Agency plans to construct schools and Primary Health Centres in 21 border states of the federation as part of its outlined projects for 2017, its Executive Secretary, Mr Numoipre Wills, has said.

    Wills told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday that work on the projects would commence immediately the 2017 budget was passed by the National Assembly.

    “We have 21 Border States with 105 Local Government Areas and we have allocated projects to all these areas.

    “If funded accordingly, people will start feeling our impact in all these states by July this year, and the project includes schools and health care centres depending on the needs of the people in a particular area.’’

    He said that the agency would also focus on rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states, adding that houses would be built for the IDPs to make them feel comfortable and secure.

    On ongoing projects, Wills said that the agency was constructing border markets in Kebbi and Cross river states at Bagudu and Ikang, respectively.

    The executive secretary said that while the market in Kebbi was almost completed, the one in Ikang has been stalled by the community.

    “We are building border markets in Ikang but unfortunately owners of shops in the existing market there are refusing contractors to build.

    “So it’s a long standing problem because the project is time bound and our contractors are complaining.

    “We have made promises to them as beneficiaries to resolve the market issue but their problem is they don’t want their business to stop in the process of construction.

    “But that of Kebbi and Adamawa is going on fine and will soon be completed.’’

    Wills assured that the Agency was always mindful of the sensitivities of people in the course of executing their projects, as such they always consider the safety of their staff and those they engaged for any job.

    He expressed that hope that the security situation in the country would improve the more to enable the Agency execute  developmental projects in border communities.

    The executive secretary explained that the agency was set up to provide essential infrastructure to border communities across the country to promote economic growth and peaceful co-existence between Nigeria and its neighbours.

  • Islamic organization distributes relief materials to Borno IDPs

    The International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) on Sunday distributed relief materials worth millions Naira to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno, as part of its global support to people in need.

    IIRO Country Representative, Sheikh Adil Hussain, flagged off the distribution of the materials at the NYSC Orientation Camp IDP settlement.

    Hussain explained that the objective of the donation was to provide succor to the IDPs who had lost almost everything to conflicts in the zone.

    “We are here to flag off the distribution of these relief items to the Borno IDPs as part of our humanitarian service all over the world.

    “Our organization has been in the vanguard to provide care for the less privilege members of the society especially women, orphans and the vulnerable,” he said.

    Hussain said that the items were purchased from donations sent from the headquarters of the organization in Saudi Arabia.

    “I wish to convey the greetings of Ustaz Ali Hussain, the secretary of the IIRO from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    “The money for the purchase of the relief items came through him.

    “We pray to Allah for a lasting peace in the North East so that the IDPs can go back home,” he said.

    Hussain said that the distribution of the items would be done in four IDP camps in Maiduguri targeting about 1,500 beneficiaries.

    He said that the distribution would also be done for IDPs in Yobe and Adamawa States.

    He said that aside from the donations, the organization was also sponsoring the education of 600 orphans in Borno to safeguard their future.

    Items donated included bags of rice, spaghetti, cooking oil and blankets among others.

     

  • 30, 000 Borno IDPs return from Cameroon

    The Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) says 30,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who fled the state at the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency have returned home.

    Malam Abdullahi Umar, the Spokesman of the agency, said in a statement issued in Maiduguri on Wednesday that the figure was part of the 78,000 IDPs that fled the state to Cameroon during the period.

    Umar said that the returnees were part of the 43,000 of the IDPs that signified interest to return home.

    He said the IDPs were being kept in a camp at Banki in Bama Local Government Area of the state.

    He said that a team of SEMA officials had already visited the camp to assess their condition.

    “The SEMA Executive Secretary, Malam Alkali Goni, has led a delegation of the agency to Banki to assess the conditions of the IDPs,” he said.

    The spokesman also said that the IDPs had been assured that the State Government had made adequate provisions for their welfare.

    He quoted Alhaji Baba Shehu, the Caretaker Chairman of the local government, as thanking the state government for the gesture and promising judicious use of the items donated.

     

  • Customs distributes 136, 476 bags of rice to IDPs camps

    Customs distributes 136, 476 bags of rice to IDPs camps

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has distributed 136, 476 bags of rice in the last one year to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in the Northeast and Benin.

    Mr Joseph Attah, Public Relations Officer of the Service, announced this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The distribution of relief materials by the NCS to the IDPs camps across the country was in compliance with presidential directive to distribute seized perishable items to IDPs in the North-East.

    He said that the reinstatement of the ban on rice importation through the land borders few months after lifting it in 2016 was to stem the tide of rice smuggling.

    Attah said that between Jan. 1, and March 31, the service had made a seizure of 136,506 (50kg) bags of rice from different land borders.

    “I can assure you that our anti-smuggling strategy is yielding positive dividend in the last three months (January to March), we seized a total of 136, 506 50kg bags of rice.

    “The last one year (March 2016 to March 2017), we made a seizure of 205, 825 bags with a duty paid value of over N1 billion, that is just rice alone.

    “To build another layer of policing, we have what we call the compliance team, which made a total of 921 seizures with a Duty Paid Value of over N1 billion, most of these seizures are rice and then vehicles,’’ he said.

    Attah said that customs in its fight against rice smugglers had record successes, adding that the service had paid great prices, especially in the area of loss of the lives of its officers.

    He said that the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd.), had adopted holistic approach in fighting smuggling in the country.

    Attah said that beyond seizing and arresting smugglers, the service had been in the fore front of educating the public about the unwholesome nature of these rice because of the method used in smuggling them.

    “The idea is to protect Nigerians and shift taste to locally produced rice.

    “We believe that when there is no patronage, there will be no smuggling.

    “Therefore, it is disturbing to see people who should rather invest their energy in a profitable venture of providing intelligence to the service to protect their businesses, national economy and security engaging in smuggling,’’ he explained.

    He said that the service was investigating the information that some rich individuals allegedly buy motorcycles and handsets for unemployed youths to monitor the movement of Customs patrol men and gives information that aide smuggling of rice.

    “There were cases when villagers were mobilised to attack and block officers when they were carrying seized rice to the station.

    “They use such confusion as smoke screen to inform smugglers to follow another route, just to beat the check and achieve their criminal venture,” he added.

    Attah, therefore, called on Nigerians to desist from smuggling, adding that any country where smuggling activities was high, it kills the economy.

  • Sanusi to BBOG, include all young victims of insurgency in campaign

    Sanusi to BBOG, include all young victims of insurgency in campaign

    The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II has urged the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement to broaden their campaign to include all young victims of insurgency in Nigeria.

    Sanusi made the call in Abuja on Friday at the inaugural annual lecture to mark the third anniversary of the abduction of the Chibok Girls with the theme: ‘Where goes our girl-child, our nation goes.’

    According to him, BBOG should always endeavour to draw the attention of the Federal Government and other stakeholders to the plight of girls and women in the society following activities of Boko Haram terrorists.

    The emir, who was represented by his daughter, Hajiya Shahida Sanusi, explained that as at today in Dalori II Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp near Maiduguri alone, more than  1,500 girls were either pregnant or nursing babies.

    Sanusi noted that due to society’s neglect hundreds of orphans are being carried away to unknown destinations and they are thrown into oblivion.

    “Our interest should be in bringing back all our girls but after these girls are brought back, we need to ask ourselves as well where are they being brought back to? What kind of society?

    “How much better is the normal environment we take for granted than Boko Haram’s camps,” he asked.
    The traditional ruler stressed the need for the BBOG to shift its focus to the broader social reality of women in Africa, Nigeria and especially the North.

    “We all claimed to be horrified by what terrorists have done and we all call this primitive and barbaric but what about the situation where your girls out of schools were forced into marriages against their consent.”

    “Such girls are often turned into mothers at a young age and exposed them to serious health risks and sometimes inflict beatings and verbal abuse on them.”

    “It is often not the fault of girls or their parents, what do they do if there are no educational and health system made available for the poor?” he asked.

    Also speaking, the Chairperson of the occasion, Prof Alele Williams urged the government to equip the military to rescue the remaining Chibok girls.

    Williams said that it had taken too long and the government had no excuse not to rescue the remaining 195 girls in captivity.

    One of the parents of the abducted girls, Mrs Rebekah Samuel who broke down in tears, appealed to government and the international community to redouble their efforts at rescuing their children in captivity.

    ” Three years not three days neither three weeks nor three months, Government help us, President Buhari help us.”

    Samuel commended the effort of BBOG movement for their tireless efforts at ensuring the abducted girls are returned to their families.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 276 girls were abducted from Government Secondary School (GGSS)Chibok in Borno state on April 14, 2014.

    NAN reports that 57  escaped while 24 were later freed through military effort and Federal Government’s negotiation with the terrorist group.

  • Adamawa suspends closure of IDP camps

    The Adamawa Commissioner for Information, Ahmad Sajoh, says the plan to close Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in the state, has been suspended indefinitely.

    Sajoh, who is also the Chairman of the state Committee for the closure of the camps, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola.

    He said the measure was taken in the best interest of the IDPs in spite of the fact that 86 per cent of them had indicated their interest to return home.

    He said that 95 per cent of the IDPs in the state were from Borno, adding that their return home would be based on their willingness, dignity and safety.

    The commissioner said over 100 of the IDPs who recently moved from the state to Banki in Borno were turned back for security reasons.

    On the issue of IDPs willing to leave camps and settle with host communities, the chairman said that there were two of such settlements in Daware in Fufore Local Government Area and Malkohi in Yola North Local Government Area.

    He, however, explained that the facilities at the settlements such as schools and health centres were over-stretched.

    “We need more schools, health centres and other social facilities; these are the challenges we are facing at the settlements.

    “ And these are the areas we want organisations such as the Victims Support Fund (VSF) to focus on,” Sajoh said.

     

  • Katsina spends N58m on IDPs, disaster victims – SEMA boss

    The Katsina State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), has spent N58 million on provision of relief materials to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and other disaster victims in the last two years.

    Dr Aminu Waziri, the executive director of the agency, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Daura on Thursday.

    He said the amount was spent in the last two years and out of which N30m was spent to purchase relief materials that included foodstuff, mattresses, clothing, sanitary materials and drugs.

    Waziri told NAN that within the period, N21.8m was expended on rehabilitation of the state-owned IDPs camp located in Katsina metropolis, while N6m was spent on fire and flood victims.

    He said there were 4, 275 internally displaced persons in Katsina State spread across eight Local Government Areas of Katsina, Rimi, Batagarawa, Baure, Daura, Chiranchi, Kafir and Ingawa.

    Waziri said the agency would commence training and retraining of staff on handling emergency situations and would also recruit additional staff for effective and efficient performance.

    He said the agency received material support from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the Presidential Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation.

    The executive director lauded the efforts of Gov. Bello Masari on prompt action to emergency situations.

    He said: “our governor releases money for our activities and ensures that due processes were adhered to in so doing.

    He warned IDPs against diversion of relief materials given to them, stressing that relief materials should be judiciously utilised and for convenience of the beneficiaries.

     

  • NYSC mulls re-opening orientation camp in Maiguguri

    NYSC mulls re-opening orientation camp in Maiguguri

    The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) said on Tuesday that it was working towards re-opening of its Orientation Camp in Maiduguri following return of relative peace to the State.

    Brig:-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, Director- General of NYSC, gave the hint while speaking with newsmen in Maiduguri.

    Kazaure said NYSC was eager to re-open the camp following the return of peace to the state ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency.

    “There is relative peace now in the state, so we will like to come back as soon as possible. Remember, the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are still occupying the Orientation Camp”, he said.

    Kazaure said the camp would be re-opened once the IDPs were evacuated from it.

    “It is only in Borno that our corps members have yet to have their orientation camp in place.

    “We are ready to start our orientation the moment the State Government releases our camp to us”, he said.

    Kazaure commended the corps members serving in the state for their dedication and resilience.

    “If you notice, I asked them about their morale and they responded by saying morale high. That is how we measure the psychological frame of the corps members.

    “Minus the camp, every other thing is in place for them. This means that they are in good spirit, they are doing well”, he said.

    Kazaure thanked the state government for providing enhanced welfare and security for the corps members.

    “I am happy that the state government has been assisting in ensuring the welfare of the corps members.

    “I thank Gov. Kashim Shettima for that and implore other states to emulate the gesture by ensuring adequate welfare for corps members serving in their localities”, he said.

    Kazaure said the NYSC was working toward setting up six skills acquisition centers across the country to empower corps members with necessary skills.

    “We identified lack of tradeing skills as the major problem causing unemployment among NYSC members.

    “So we embarked on establishment of six skills acquisition centers in all the geopolitical zones of the country to help in training these young graduates to become self-reliant.

    “W have almost completed work on the center in Gombe which will serve states in the North East.
    He said the NYSC authority was also working on five other centres and were near completion.

    The director-general said the essence of the innovation was to produce corps members that would eventually become job creators rather than being job seekers.

  • Boko Haram abducts 10 in Borno

    Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi, the Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Borno, said suspected Boko Haram members has invaded Konduga Local Government Area and abducted four women and six youths.

    Abdullahi told the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) in Maiduguri on Tuesday that the insurgents had also invaded Mittiri, Akalli and Arribbari villages in the same Konduga local government area.

    “Our intelligence report had indicated that the insurgents are now operating in Dalla Fatimiri on about 10 motorcycles.

    “Our men of Anti-vandalism and Intelligence Unit of the Command on Friday reported the kidnapping of four youths in Kalari village in Konduga local government area,” he said.

    He explained that the remnants of the insurgents were desperately recruiting more youths to sustain their fight in the state, having been effectively decimated and degraded by the Nigerian Military.

    “This is a clarion call to Nigerians to be on the alert at all times and always report any suspicious activities around them to the security agencies.

    “Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who are desperate to return to their librated communities should desist from living in areas that are not properly secured by armed personnel,” the commandant said.

    NAN reports that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Konduga, a town located few kilometers away from Maiduguri, have been returning home with the hope of rebuilding their lives.

     

  • Borno reconstructs 60 % of houses destroyed in Bama–  Commissioner  

     The Borno Government said on Tuesday that it had reconstructed 60 per cent of the estimated 10,000 private houses destroyed by the Boko Haram insurgents in Bama Local Government Area.
    Prof. Babagana Umara , the Commissioner for Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Resettlement , stated this while speaking with newsmen in Bama , headquarters of Bama Local Government Area.
    Umara said that the state government had also reconstructed hospitals, schools and other public buildings in readiness for the home coming of the displaced people.

    “So far so good, we have about 60 per cent of the private homes reconstructed. “In addition, hospitals , especially the maternity hospital in Bama , have been completely reconstructed.
    “Even public schools have been reconstructed through an intervention by the Victims Support Fund, and all the reconstruction have been completed,” he said.
    Umara expressed optimism that the reconstruction work would be completed before the May 28 deadline, set by the state government for the completion of work.
    “Going by the pace of work therefore , I have no doubt that we will meet the May 28 deadline of resettling Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) wishing to return home.
    “This has to be voluntarily for only those who want to return in line with the Kampala Convention,” he said.
    Umara lauded the Nigerian military for the efforts in clearing the Boko Haram insurgents from the area.
    “I want to commend the military for providing an enabling environment for us to do the reconstruction work, without them it will have been impossible.
    “Since we started work last year , we have had no threats or security problem, we thank them for this,” he said.
    Umara explained that about 4,000 workers were involved in the reconstruction work.
    “We have about 4,000 workers on site working in Bama.
    “This large number of people is enough to experiment how people will live in the town after their eventual return.
    “I believe that the military is on top of the situation and doing everything possible to restore peace all over the state”, he said.
    He said that government was also reconstructing communities destroyed in other parts of the state.
    “Apart from Bama , we are working in Damboa,Gamboru- Ngala, Mobbar and other places.
    “You are aware of the fact that we have finished reconstruction of Konduga LGA and the IDPs have returned home, so also is Mafa LGA,” Umara said.
    He said that the government was also reconstructing structures in Chibok and Askira -Uba local government areas.
    “We are doing lots of reconstruction in Chibok, Askira, Kwajafa,Kimba and many more communities ravaged by the insurgency.
    “Our main constraint is paucity of funds, the volume of work requires large sum of money which is beyond the capability of the state government,” Umara said.
    He appealed to the Federal Government and donor organisations to lend a helping hand towards actualising the dream to reconstruct the state and resettle IDPs back home.