Thousands of internally-displaced persons have stormed churches in Borno State for refuge.
The
internally-displaced persons decided to seek refuge in the places of
worship after members of the Boko Haram terrorist group sacked their
communities.
Saturday PUNCH
also learnt that one of the churches had equally rented houses in
Maiduguri to accommodate the victims, aside those accommodated at the
Christian Association of Nigeria’s office in the Borno State capital.
As
the crisis confronting the internally-displaced persons is biting
harder, the Caritas Nigeria and JDPC, the humanitarian and human
development organs of the Catholic Church in Nigeria, also confirmed
that multitudes of IDPs had overwhelmed churches in Borno.
The
Executive Secretary, Caritas Nigeria/JDPC, Rev. Fr. Evaristus Bassey,
during an interactive session with journalists on the state of the
nation in Calabar during the week, said that the situation portrayed
Nigeria as a country in a state of war which required support for
internally-displaced persons. He said the clerics were overwhelmed by
the multitudes of people seeking shelter and protection in churches in
Borno State.
Bassey said, “Our churches are overwhelmed by displaced persons. They have run out of resources. We need to support them.
“Imagine
being a refugee in your own country! Imagine running for hours for
safety. Imagine not being certain if you will eat or not for days.
Imagine having to sleep in the hills for days and weeks. Imagine not
having a bath for days and wearing same clothes.
Another cleric in the city, Rev. Fr. Gideon Obasogie, in a telephone interview with Saturday PUNCH,
said, “It is true. Since many of our churches have been taken over by
the insurgents, our members have fled to the city and are now sleeping
in the churches here.
“In Mubi, a
town between Adamawa State and Maiduguri State for instance, we have 13
parishes, which also have sub-stations. As I am talking to you now, over
200 churches have been overtaken by the insurgents. These guys are
under control of everything. Our members who are in those churches have
now fled and are residing in some of the churches in Maiduguri.
Obasogie
further said, “They are saying the military have recaptured Bama; they
didn’t recapture anything. The insurgents only relocated to Gwoza and it
will be only a few days till they are back. We have written to the
Bishop of Maiduguri. We have over 10,000 persons that have been
displaced who have nowhere to stay.”
“There
is suffering here; there is no water, no food, no medical care and the
rest. People are really suffering. As I am talking to you now, we have
residents here who are caught up on mountains while trying to cross over
from here to Cameroun. Some are staying on grasses, exposed to the
harsh weather. We have the pregnant, aged, children and the young who
are suffering. The situation is very pathetic around here.
“You
see displaced people in churches, hospitals, NYSC camp. These things
are not being shown on the TV. These insurgents are coming here in the
next few days. They have already taken over the major towns and it is
even possible in 30 minutes from now, they can take over Maiduguri. They
know what they are doing; they have blocked all the exits and now there
is only one exit from Maiduguri.
Terrorist attacks have disrupted farming and other economic activities in Borno and Adamawa states, according to residents.
Saturday PUNCH
also learnt that no fewer than 3,000 internally-displaced persons have
been registered in Adamawa State Emergency Relief Agency at the NYSC
orientation camp in Bajabure in Girei Local Government Area of the
state.
It was also gathered that some residents were still hiding in the bush for fear of the Boko Haram attack.
The
Boko Haram had taken over some communities such as Gwoza and Bama in
Borno State as well as Michika, Gulak and Uba in Adamawa State.
Of
the 3, 000 internally-displaced persons registered in Adamawa State,
three quarter of them are children and women, including expectant
mothers.
In an interview with one of
our correspondents, the Executive Secretary of Adamawa State Emergency
Relief Agency, Alhaji Haruna Furo, said, “Adequate arrangements have
been put in place to cater for the welfare of the victims.
“Most
of the registered victims came from Michika, Madagali Local Government
areas in Adamawa State and Damboa, Izge and Gwoza in Borno State”.
Some of the victims shared their experiences with Saturday PUNCH. They said they trekked long distance from their communities before boarding vehicles to Yola.
They added that they paid three times the transport fares they used to pay from either Michika or Madagali to Yola.
Dada
Abba from Madagali said, “We lost contacts with our husbands since we
fled our homes. I paid N10, 000 from Madagali to Yola with my four
kids.”
Salisu Mohammed and Adamu
Nasco both from Gwoza in Borno State said, “We left the town because
insurgents have burnt our houses. We first left for Mubi, but on getting
information that the place would be attacked, we left for Yola.”