Over 4,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), mainly farmers in Nasarawa State, are currently facing excruciating hardship following the recent bandits’ attacks in some communities in Awe, Keana, and Domain Local Councils.

Currently, they are living in hunger, no shelter and other basic needs. According reports, 45 persons, mostly children, who are taking refuge in public buildings in Awe, Keana and Obi local councils have allegedly died due to lack of medical services in the camps.

The IDPs are local farmers in villages of Nasarawa State sharing borders with Benue and Taraba states, whose communities were attacked recently. 

At the three main camps visited by The Guardian, including the Central Primary School, Awe, over 2,000 IDPs, mostly women and children were in urgent need of food.

Some of the children revealed that they had been feeding on mango fruits, while their appearances and most of the aged IDPs showed they have not bath for days.

The spokesperson of the IDPs, Mr Joseph Amuwa expressed worry over the hardship and neglect, coupled with the absence of security around the camp.

Amuwa said they had been taking refuge at the primary school since 2018 following attacks on their communities by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen.

Another IDP, Mrs Anna Adyier who described their conditions as dehumanising appealed to the state government to intervene by providing them with relief materials. She pointed out that over 40 people including children sleep in one classroom.

The Village Head of Gidan Buhu, one of the communities that suffered several attacks, recalled that recently when himself and other few men attempted to go back home to their farms, they were attacked, but narrowly escaped with bullet wounds, while some of his relations lost their lives.

He noted that over 20 persons, mostly children lost their lives in the camp between 2019 and 2022 due to unhygienic foods and lack of health care services.

Similarly, at the Pilot Science Primary School Keana, there were over 1,500 IDPs taking refuge in the classrooms where their leader, Mr. Dennis Iornya lamented that they had been abandoned as life was becoming unbearable to them, especially with the rainy season.

Also, Mrs. Mercy Chahur and Mrs Adasho Deborah who had just given birth a week ago at the camp lamented that they watched helplessly how their children fell sick and died one after another due to lack of medical attention.

Reacting to the development, Executive Secretary, Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Zakariya Allumaga said the state government would deploy a team of personnel to carryout head count of the IDPs with a view to providing them with relief materials.