When militiamen recently invaded communities such as Maigoge , Maihula and Tunga in the Bali Local Government Area including Ananum and Akate communities in the Donga Local Government Area of Taraba State , many lives were lost and thousands displaced .
The attacks have continued unabated and the displaced persons are now taking refuge in several internally displaced persons camps across the state .

But life inside the camps has not been conducive, with the inmates taking turns to sleep due to the inadequate space and sleeping materials .

In one of the camps at St John ’s College , Mutum -Biyu , located along Mutum - Biyu -Garba Chede Road in Gassol Local Government Area , one could easily mistake the population there for a village market , an annual festival or a church convention.

The difference was that as one approached the camp , the mood of the people showed they were downhearted; the cries of children permeated the atmosphere .

According to the Very Rev Fr George Dogo , the camp coordinator and Parish Priest of St John ’ s Catholic Church , Mutum -Biyu , which owns the school , there are over 13 , 000 residents taking refuge in the facility.
Dogo added that the refugees were from 22 communities in Bali Local Government Area and one community from Donga Local Government Areas .
According to a register obtained at the camp , the facility accommodates 5 ,804 men , 8 ,462 women and 3 ,742 children, bringing the total to 18 ,008 .
Dogo , however , said about 5,000 only registered at the camp but were now staying with family and friends in the town and other places . The cleric decried the challenges of having to cater for the refugees and called for help .

He said , “The number ( of refugees ) there is overwhelming . When they first came, we accommodated them in the church , but a day after , the population became too much , so we moved some of them here , while others are still staying in the church .
“ Some registered and then moved into town and are now staying with relations and friends . Some who are a bit financially buoyant have rented apartments in the town and moved there with their families . As of Wednesday , the number we have in the camp and in the church is slightly above 13 ,000 people .

“Feeding them is not a child’ s play . Many of them , including children, have no clothes and sleeping materials . In fact, they have made some arrangements whereby some sleep between 6 pm and 10 pm , others then sleep from 10 pm to 2am ; they alternate the sleeping hours until everyone has got some sleep .
“We are also facing the challenges of food and water . I want to appeal to the government and well- meaning individuals to come to the aid of the IDPs .”
Findings showed that 298 people had been killed during the crisis and 509 injured across the 22 communities in Bali Local Government Area, as well as one community in Donga Local Government Area.

Communities most affected by the crisis in Bali council area include Maihula , Yelwa Kutumba , Sabon Dale , Wurbo , Kudi , Gazebo , and Taka - Lafia . At the IDPs camp at St John ’s College , the women leader , Evangelist Elizabeth Kwaghnjua , said life in the camp was terrible .
She said , “Look at our number here and compare it with the number of classrooms . Even if 100 people sleep in one room , which is not possible , some will still not have space to sleep . We have just two blocks of 10 classrooms and we are over 13 ,000 in this camp . All of us can ’t go to sleep at the same time .

“What we normally do is to alternate sleeping hours . Most times , we allow the children and the elderly to sleep at night while the young ones keep vigil and sleep in the daytime .
“Many people trekked to the camp from long distances , so they didn ’t bring sleeping materials . At the point of running , people only cared about saving their lives . It is unfortunate that only the church is taking care of us here . I urge the governor to also come and see what we are passing through here . Imagine children sleeping on bare floor in this rainy season . It’s also not funny forcing some children to stay awake up to 1 am just to wait for their time to sleep . Some have actually been acquainted with the practice, but I can tell you , it’s not funny .”

A community leader who is also now an IDP , Zakaria Akaater , said since he was displaced three days ago , the state government had not done enough to cater for their needs .
He said , “How do you feed these people ? It’s rainy season and people , especially children, need to sleep indoors to prevent mosquito bites , but there is no place for them to sleep .

“Last week , my daughter - in- law ran from Ananum village in Donga to meet us in Bali and we were also attacked and displaced . At least , 113 houses were destroyed during an attack on Ananum on June 6. Fifteen people were killed .
“I don’t know whether the government is aware of this but it will interest you to that we share information and data as community leaders , and from the data I have , 5 ,288 men were displaced at Ananum , as well as 4 ,710 women and 11 ,883 children. We are appealing to the government to end this crisis because it’s killing our economy .”

Another refugee who is a student of Government Day Secondary School, Maihula , Miss Grace Daa , told our correspondent that she trekked for three days to get to the camp .
Daa , who is waiting to sit the West African Senior School Certificate Examination after the COVID - 19 pandemic , said apart from inadequate sleeping space which had forced them to share sleeping hours, personal hygiene was also a big challenge.
She said , “ For us women , we don’t have sanitary pads during menstruation . Many of us have infections . Our population has overwhelmed the school toilets and many are using nearby bushes . It’s really bad.”
A community leader , Chief Temeke Gabriel , lamented that instead of finding ways of ending the crisis , the state government was busy preparing for local government election .

However , the Permanent Secretary , Taraba State Emergency Management Agency , Mr Nulvaga Dan -Habu , said the state government was doing enough to cater for the welfare of all IDPs .
He said , “Even this morning ( Wednesday ) , relief materials have been carried from Jalingo to Gassol and Bali local government areas for distribution to the IDPs .

“We have desk officers in each of the local government areas who report to us . The desk officers know where the IDPs are and I am sure that the relief materials will reach them , even in Mutum - Biyu and Gassol local government areas as well. ”

“Recently , we evacuated IDPs from Kurmi to Chanchanji and provided relief materials to those in Bali and Dan - Anacha . What we are doing now is to see how the IDPs can return to their homes because government resources are limited and cannot satisfy the needs of the displaced people .”

Source: https://punchng.com/double-jeopardy-inside-taraba-idps-camp-where-displaced-nigerians-compete-for-food-sleeping-space/

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