by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
PLATEAU STATE – Following the recent killings in Mangu local government of Plateau State, with the people displaced in various camps, 24 camps have been identified with some of the victims staying with relations and friends out within and outside the local government.
Speaking to journalists, who went round the IDP Camps recently, Mr. Enoch Markus, who is the Financial Secretary of the Mwagavul Development Association National Body, disclosed that, the people in the camps have lost everything, because they could not carry anything but only run for their dear lives.
According to him, they have about 26 to 27 villages that have been razed down completely, and those that came out of that village didn’t come out with anything apart from the clothes they were wearing.
He said, they used to distribute food to them, adding that, “One of the camps in Fan has over 2,000 internally displace persons and there is another one in Pankshin, while we have people scattered in people’s houses, which we normally gather them in one place and share what we have for them and the people they are living with.
“Most of the IDPs only run for their lives without picking anything aside the clothes on them when the attackers descended on their communities and are in need of basic necessities of life,” he stated.
He stressed that, “All those people staying in those houses – it’s not that they have anything, they have lost everything because we have almost 26 to 27 villages that have been razed down completely, and those that came out of that village didn’t come out with anything apart from the clothing that you see on their body.”
Mr. Markus further explained that, Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp set up for survivors of the attacks on villages of Mangu Local Government Area of the State is in a pathetic condition that requires urgent attention.
Our correspondent reports that, in one the IDP Camps located at Pilot Science Primary School Bungha, in Mangu Town, to assess their plights the victims were lamenting that children are falling sick on a regular basis as a result of the usage of the Primary Schools classrooms floor without mattresses.
He said, “This is a situation that required deliberate efforts to further save the helpless situation from degenerating to children mortality in the camp.
He explained how they have been sustaining the IDPs for almost two months of the conflict; that the sustenance has been through the support of individuals and NGOs, noting that, “We have not received anything from government yet.”
